England, France, Australia and New Zealand have hosted the World Cup on multiple occasions and the tournament has never been played outside its traditional 'heartlands' in these areas.
In this time period hosts were picked and tournaments were arranged between the four traditional rugby league playing countries and the IRL.
The 2026 edition will be the last time the three Rugby League World Cups are staged concurrently, with each being made into standalone events from 2028 onwards.
The Rugby Football League (RFL) also submitted a bid for England and Wales to host the World Cup for the first time since 2000.
The RLIF accepted Australia and New Zealand's bid to host the 2017 World Cup as there would be more chance of the tournament being a success although South Africa was praised for their growing domestic game.
[11] On 25 November 2015 England's RFL announced it had government backed plans to host the 2021 World Cup after the success of 2013.
The RFL put in an official bid for the 2021 World Cup on 30 June 2016 with £15m funding from the government and the aim to have over 1 million spectators.
[36] On 24 July 2024, the IRL announced that Australia would host the 2026 tournament, with a number of games played in Papua New Guinea.
[42] In August 2024, South Africa estimated that hosting the event would result in a R4 billion boost to the country's economy.
[45] Expressed interest in biding: International Rugby League has targeted the United States to host 2033 (now 2034) tournament.