For the first time in fifty-three years, France will host the Rugby Union World Cup in 2025. The organizing committee presented the contours of the competition at a press conference on Tuesday 11 January. “It was time for it to come back to us!”, enthused Prime Minister Jean Castex, who opened this presentation.
This World Cup will concern, in all, four disciplines: men’s and women’s competitions, but also wheelchair and youth rugby. Through this organization, the authorities hope to develop the discipline in France. “This is going to be a huge accelerator. It is neither an end, nor a beginning: it is a point of passage”, confirmed Luc Lacoste, president of the French Rugby League Federation.
It’s done ! https://t.co/YXrgAf2E34
– French Rugby XIII Federation (@FFRXIII) January 7, 2022
Banned under the Vichy regime, French rugby union develops in the shadow of rugby union, more publicized and popular. “But for the past year, something has clearly been happening”, enthusiastic Luc Lacoste. In October 2021, the Catalan Dragons reached the Super League final for the first time, while Toulouse Olympique became the second French team to enter this Franco-English competition.
Sign of a certain confidentiality, in 2020, the discipline had 11,000 licensees, thirty times less than rugby union. The president of the Federation expects 25% more clubs by 2025. “It’s a magnificent sport, fundamentally modern and very telegenic”, he boasted. “Dear Treizo friends, we must ensure that this World Cup creates new vocations and stimulates us to win titles”, for his part indicated Jean Castex, whose stronghold, in the Pyrénées-Orientales, is particularly fond of rugby union.
In all, forty stages will host the 128 or so games scheduled. The emphasis is particularly placed on medium-sized towns, which will be distributed over 90% of the meetings. Only the semi-finals and finals will take place in major cities. “It’s vibrant for an average town to host a global event”, Jubilee Kamel Chibli, vice-president of the Occitanie region.
The stake, around this competition, is well to develop the discipline beyond the “conquered” territories. Seven of the nine French first division clubs are located in Occitanie, and the other two, Villeneuve-sur-Lot and Avignon, are not far from it. The organizing committee has thus clarified its desire to cover the entire territory, including Paris in its project.
Round table in progress with the participation of Caroline Cayeux, Kamel Chibli, Luc Lacoste, Claude Revel and Thierry Teboul. The opportunity to discuss the challenges and objectives of this 2025 World Cup.# France2025 # RLWC2025 pic.twitter.com/1NTVpEJvGv
– France2025 (@ CDMFrance2025) January 11, 2022
“Cities of Hauts-de-France, Normandy or Brittany are passionate about the idea of welcoming thousands of supporters”, said Michel Wiener, director of the organization. And the latter to cite the examples of Vichy, Arras, Beauvais or Besançon, all candidates. The final list of host cities will be finalized at the end of 2022.
At the same time, the French men’s team will play in the World Cup in England, and hope to shine there three years from “his” competition. Finalists of the 1954 and 1968 editions, the Blues have been absent from the last four for fifty years.