England rugby hopes to create a lasting legacy for women’s sport after the 2025 World Cup is confirmed

Madison Gordon 3 years ago 2 min read

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England was chosen to host the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2025, its first celebration of the event in 15 years.

The tournament will be the first edition involving 16 countries, and the Rugby Football Union (RFU) plans to take a “multiple cities, multi-region” approach.

The English Red Roses are currently the No. 1 women’s team in the world and recently won their fourth consecutive title at the Six Nations Championship.

Thursday’s announcement is a further boost to the sport in England, with the Russian Football Union’s chief of operations Su Day hoping the tournament will help create a “lasting legacy”.

“We are delighted to host the 2025 Rugby World Cup, it will be a great match. We would like to thank the government for their support to make this possible,” Day said.

“By working closely with government, UK Sport, Sport England and World Rugby we will create a lasting legacy for women’s rugby in England, the UK and around the world, both in terms of getting more people to play and attracting new fans.

“As we have seen from other domestic World Cups in cricket, hockey and netball, the Rugby World Cup will promote all women’s sports. The tournament will also bring significant economic benefits across the country.

“I can only imagine how proud we are and how special we will feel when hosting the final in Twickenham.”

The FA Women’s Football Legacy Program includes the development of women’s football across the country and will focus on developing female coaches and referees, encouraging more college girls and women to play and increasing support across the country.

The federation said the grass-roots mentoring and education programs will aim to attract 1,000 new female coaches and 500 female match officials.

Culture Minister Nadine Doris and Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston also echoed the hope for growth in sport as well as economic boost.

“We want to use the 2025 World Cup as a catalyst to inspire more women and girls to get active and enjoy the benefits of competitive sport,” Doris said.

“We have a great platform to do so. The Red Roses have taken the top spot in the rankings and popular participation is thriving. We are investing £30m in a major sporting event package over the next three years to help us achieve our goal.”

Huddleston added: “This is a fantastic vote of confidence for women’s rugby in this country.

“We will work closely with the Russian Federation to use the power of hosting the World Cup to invest in the growth of the sport, improve facilities at the grassroots level, bridge the gap between the interest and participation of men and women, and offer a new path for future talent around the world. The United Kingdom.”