On 3 October 2014, the 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying competition was announced with one qualification spot being granted to the Middle East-Africa region.

[1] Initially a one-off play off match in the Dubai Sports City complex was announced.

South Africa was subsequently given the hosting rights for the qualification fixtures.

South Africa RL president Kobus Botha stated that the "SARL is extremely excited about hosting this highly prestigious World Cup Qualifier... We hope that this is the first of many such tournaments and a small glimpse into what South Africa can offer as a potential host country for the 2021 World Cup.

"[3] Both teams picked preliminary train-on squads with the South Africans picked what they believed was "a strong, healthy and balanced train-on squad" which contained domestic players as well as eligible South African players based in Australia's reserve grade competitions.