Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are preparing to bid for the 2035 Rugby World Cup, according to reports.
It would be the first time the code’s showpiece tournament would be held in the region and would also be the first time the tournament would be held in multiple countries. It would follow in the footsteps of football, whose 2022 World Cup was held in Qatar.
According to reports in The Times, the bid is backed by Rugby Asia who are interested in bringing the event to the continent again following the success of the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
“As our leaders in the Gulf believe, nothing is impossible,” the president of Rugby Asia, Qais Al Dhalai, told The Times. “I foresee this as something that might happen in 2035.
“I’m in favour of a multi-city hosting model, not a single host. That’s proven to work in soccer. They have done it since 2002 when Japan and Korea hosted, and are doing it again in Mexico, USA and Canada in 2026, and then again with Spain, Morocco and Portugal in 2030. Why not rugby?
“A multi-host could be a successful story and a new model for rugby. UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia. Why not? The stadiums are ready there. It will be the most successful event in the history of rugby.”
The bid faces several hurdles though. None of the three nations have participated in a World Cup previously with the UAE currently the highest ranked at 48th in the world rankings, with Qatar sitting 87th. Saudi Arabi do not currently sit on the 118-country ranking list.
If they were to host, World Rugby would be forced to make rule changes regarding qualification to the tournament to allow the host nations to participate.
The tournament schedule would also need to move, with the current fixturing from September through October simply too hot for sport to be played, meaning the event would have to be moved to December through to January.
This would play havoc with the global rugby calendar with the Six Nations traditionally taking place from February through March, while domestic leagues such as Super Rugby Pacific in the Southern Hemisphere kicking off in mid-February.
According to reports the bid would face competition from Italy and Spain who are also preparing separate bids as well as traditional powerhouse South Africa.
“I don’t want to underestimate other bids, and I believe South Africa and other European countries might be interested as well, but if World Rugby worked hard on this with a solid plan it might happen in 2035,” Al Dhalai said.
It isn’t the first time rugby has attracted attention from the Middle East region with the 2028 edition of the Nations Cup finals — a new cross-hemisphere Test competition set to begin next year — penciled in to be played in Doha.
Meanwhile, Qatar Airways are the title sponsors of the upcoming British & Irish Lions tour to Australia and have funded Springboks Test matches against the All Blacks and Wales at Twickenham.
The bidding process for the 2035 World Cup will start in the next two years.
Australia will host the next men’s edition in 2027 before the women’s event in 2029, with the United States to play host to both the men’s and women’s editions in 2031 and 2033.
Source: espn.com