We're excited today, to reveal our action plan to reinforce the promise, to deliver the most inclusive Rugby League World Cup to date by tackling discrimination and breaking down any barriers to involvement through a positive social impact programme.

The action plan focuses around three core areas:

1.     Our organisation - ensuring diversity and inclusion run throughout everything we do. Focus areas include; staff team and training, language and behaviours, communications and media strategy, recruitment and advertising, including Board of Directors and any advisory groups, to ensure they are all as representative as possible.

2.     Delivery – this includes our InspirationALL social impact programme, working with our commercial partners, and identifying how the different tournament elements can reach a diverse range of communities beyond the core rugby league community.

3.     Tournament time – In 2021, for the first time, the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments will be staged in a single, celebratory event. As part of this, we will hold player working groups to ensure national representation, All elements of the match day experience will be reviewed to ensure diversity, including stewarding and how we challenge behaviour to make a safe environment for attendees.

Rugby League is for all and RLWC2021 provides an important opportunity to show how the sport can provide a platform to bring people together, promote diversity and inclusivity and to support and further anti-discrimination efforts and initiatives.

Discrimination has no place in Rugby League and RLWC2021 is fully committed to ensuring that the tournament is the most inclusive and accessible tournament to date. RLWC2021 is working closely with a number of partners including the Rugby Football League (RFL) and their own action plan TACKLE IT to take action against and prevent any discriminatory incidents.

Tournament Chief Executive, Jon Dutton, said: 

“RLWC2021 is an organisation that lives by a strong set of core values which include being authentic and inclusive. By outlining where we are currently lacking and by identifying a series of measurable actions that we will complete, we believe this confirms our authenticity.

"Recent global events, in particular the Black Lives Matter movement, have highlighted that within sport and society, players, coaches, fans, volunteers, staff and supporters still face a daily battle against discrimination.

“We have been sharing, reflecting and we have been listening. We will continue to listen and learn from the lived experiences of those across the sport, to share ideas and to check and challenge ourselves to do more and be better."

The diversity and inclusion plan will champion the tournament strapline ‘The Power of Together’ and will be integral to achieving the aim of delivering the most inclusive Rugby League World Cup in 2021.

View our D&I action plan