The 2030 edition of the World Cup will be held in the US and the Pacific Islands.
The five host cities are yet to be confirmed, but the men’s and women’s tournaments will run concurrently, as they are with this year’s tournament, which is currently being held in Australia.
World governing body International Rugby League (IRL) said the aim was to expand the sport’s reach to new countries.
“This is a strategy to maximise the interest of broadcasters, government partners and fans in the current World Cup, which has regularly broken records for crowds and the number of television viewers,” IRL chairman Tony Grant said at the board’s annual general meeting (AGM) in Sydney.
“At the same time we want to take advantage of opportunities that are opening up in new frontiers where the Rugby League World Cup hasn’t previously been played.”
Grant said the men’s World Cup would expand from 10 teams to 12, while the women’s event would consist of 10 instead of eight.
The format of the 2026 World Cup has come under scrutiny for jumping from the group stage to the semi-finals.
However, that structure appears to have been retained for the 2030 tournament, which will be played over five weeks in five cities.
Three pool rounds have been designed to mimic a ‘Magic Round’ format before the semi-finals and finals take place in different locations.
The IRL has proposed that Samoa and Tonga be promoted to Tier One nations alongside Australia, England and New Zealand.
Samoa became the first Pacific country to play in a World Cup final in 2022, while they and Tonga both reached the semi-finals of this year’s tournament.
The 2030 Wheelchair World Cup will take place at the same time, but will be held in France, while the 2034 tournament will be hosted in Europe.
Eligibility rules have also been updated so that a player may represent their nation of heritage if they, a parent, a grandparent or a great grandparent were born there, following a detailed submission from the Cook Islands.
Both men’s and women’s finals of the 2026 tournament are being contested between Australia and New Zealand in Brisbane on Sunday.
Australia’s men have won the past three World Cups, while their women are playing in their fifth successive final.
