Councils to spend £500k to promote Rugby World Cup

The Women's Rugby World Cup match is being used as a test to prove sport can make real improvements to local communities

A combined authority has agreed to spend £500,000 to promote a Rugby World Cup game.

England will face the USA in the first match of the Women's Rugby World Cup at Sunderland's Stadium of Light next year.

The North East Combined Authority (NECA) has approved the money to encourage people from the local community to get involved in the sport.

Sunderland Liberal Democrat councillor Paul Edgeworth said he supported the project but wanted to ensure the event included people across Wearside "regardless of background".

He said NECA and Sunderland City Council needed to make sure the events were "priced and promoted in a way that is affordable and accessible for local people, rather than giving free tickets to people who would have paid to attend anyway".

The specific details of how the money will be spent have yet to be decided, but will be revealed closer to the match.

NECA said the funding would be used on activities to welcome people to the North East and create a legacy "inspiring new generations to take up the sport".

"The eyes of the sporting world will be on Sunderland when it plays host to the opening of next summer’s Women’s Rugby World Cup, but also the eyes of our region," a spokesman for NECA said.

Region of Sport

The funding is part of the combined authority's plans to make north-east England the nation's first Region of Sport.

It would mark the North East as a place where community participation, visitor numbers, investment and public health are improved through sport.

For its bid to be successful, NECA needs to prove these benefits can be achieved through sporting events and will use the Women's Rugby World Cup game and Euro 2028 as tests.

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said the project was about getting people involved "at a grassroots level in sport", as well as bringing headline events to the region.

Additional reporting by Daniel Holland from the Local Democracy Reporting Service.