According to the survey of people in France, organised by the Institute of French Public Opinion (IFOP), 88% of respondents support the plan to hold the 2025 Rugby League World Cup in France.

In addition, the study shows that 69% of the French people would like the competition to take place in their region, giving support to the Organizing Committee’s decision to host the competition in around 40 different towns and cities.

The proposed format of the competition will see, for the very first time, men’s, women’s, wheelchair, and youth competitions organised simultaneously and equally. A format that is proving very popular and has 88% general approval and 41% very supportive.

The survey demonstrates that 67% of the population are ready to support the French national teams, 73% believe that the event would have a unifying effect and 76% believe that it will be very positive for the morale of the nation. Finally, 72% agree that such a huge event would benefit the French economy and in particular the tourism economy in the host cities.

🇫🇷67% de la population se dit déjà prêts à supporter les équipes de France ! 💪 #FFRXIII #rugbyXIII #rugby #rugbyleague #XIII #RLWC2025 https://t.co/tQWU6q6xtx

— Fédération Française de Rugby XIII (@FFRXIII) September 14, 2021

The business model is based upon 1,3 million tickets being bought with 60% sold in France and 40% to international visitors. Importantly, 33% of the population surveyed said that they are ready to buy tickets now.

Michel Wiener, Executive Director of the Candidature Committee said:

“This survey has demonstrated the support of the general public for our proposed plan to deliver a huge international sports event including all forms of the sport, in multiple towns and cities at affordable prices. It confirms the positive welcome already offered by local authorities across the country. We are very happy with this demonstration of widespread support for our proposal to organise the Rugby League World Cup in France in 2025.”

Jérôme Fourquet, Director of the Opinion & Corporate Strategies Department of IFOP said:

“The results of the survey are a positive response to France’s plan to organise RLWC2025 and illustrate the strong support for rugby as a sport that interests the public and can attract a large audience. 31% of the public aged over 18 years, which represents potentially 15 million people, have said that they are fairly or very interested in rugby. By comparison, the similar figure for football is 29%.”

*The survey was conducted between August 31 and September 3, 2021. There were 1803 participants drawn form a national sample.