With local authorities submitting bids to host games and teams at the 2021 Rugby League World Cup in England, Jon Dutton – the director of the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments – discusses his hopes for hosting the biggest ever Rugby League World Cup.

How is the build-up to this tournament going to be different to the last World Cup you organised here in 2013?

“We have time. It’s a six-year project. We started early, in 2015, with the role the Northern Powerhouse can play in the sport. We are a temporary vehicle, here to co-ordinate the tournament and deliver something really special, but we have to work with the RFL and other partners to make sure there is a tangible legacy. The physical element is important: there will be new clubhouses, new teams set up, new kit and equipment, new artificial pitches. But it has to be wider than that. The business communities can provide a legacy once the tournament has gone.”

Is that why it’s so important to choose the host venues soon so you can focus on those business communities?

“Absolutely. It’s much wider than just venues, though: it’s where teams will stay and the communities we will work with. We started in January this year and next January we will announce our venues, so that gives us the best part of three years to bring it to life and make sure there is a local legacy.”

How do you strike a balance between putting on a fantastic tournament and ensuring a legacy for the sport here?

“Good question. In 2013 there wasn’t really a legacy because we had a small team and a small budget and concentrated on delivering the tournament. We’ve accessed £10m of new government funding for legacy but the RFL and other partners will decide who gets it. The rest of the legacy programme is really far-reaching: we have a dance programme, a choir programme, public health, international development. All that is aimed at people who might not want to play the game, who might not know about the game, but who we want to get involved.”

You have said that 2021 will be held in cities not towns. Is that just the main tournament?

“It is. We’ve always said – and made it clear to the government – we will stage 80% of the men’s tournament in the Northern Powerhouse, so 24 of the 31 games. And to reach our quite ambitious targets we need to go to larger venues than we predominantly did in 2013. We want to reward the loyal RL community but we have to engage with a new audience and that means accessing bigger populations. We’re taking a quite scientific approach to find what motivates people to attend. We’ve got to be very contemporary in how we market the tournament. Cities are predominantly - but not exclusively - the way to go.”

So you’ve looked at cities that have embraced events not embedded in their cultures?

“Absolutely. We’re not a rugby league event, we’re a sports and entertainment event. We’re hungry and thirsty to learn from other people. So we’re involved in a knowledge transfer group working with Cricket World Cup 2019, Netball World Cup, road race cycling in Yorkshire, men’s football European Championship 2020, and the Commonwealth Games. Our programme director went to San Francisco recently to see the Sevens World Cup. We are looking beyond sport to see what attracts people.”

Ryan Hall scores for England against Fiji in Hull at the 2013 World Cup. Photograph: Paul Thomas/Getty Images

Will there still be a place for traditional rugby league towns?

“Definitely. A number of the 40 towns and cities who initially expressed an interest in hosting a game realised they couldn’t realistically meet our criteria but we’ve continued those discussions. We will make the scheduling and hosting coherent, pairing teams up with suitable hosts. Workington took Scotland to their hearts in 2013, and I went to a business event in Warrington recently and they were still speaking fondly about when Samoa were there.”

Presumably some games will be in London. Are you considering Tottenham and Arsenal?

“I can’t tell you absolutely where we are going to play but London will be central to our plans. We’ve got 65 games and 32 teams to be hosted. We have looked extensively at London. The London events market is changing and with Tottenham coming in, it gives everyone opportunities”

You have mentioned Middlesbrough as a potential venue. Wouldn’t that be as random as Reading in 2000 and Bristol in 2013?

“We’ve learned lessons from 2013. We won’t make cosmetic decisions, take a map and put pins in it. The board have to make rounded, authentic choices, not just where there’s a large population, or where someone might pay us a large rights fee. I’ve been incredibly impressed with Middlesbrough. If and where they fit into the tournament remains to be seen. But you’re right: it has to be part of a wider plan. We can’t make a big splash, then go home leaving nothing behind.”

Last year’s World Cup in Australia lacked momentum by only being played at weekends. Will you avoid that?

“The huge distances there made it difficult, but our structure will be similar to 2013. We will absolutely play games in midweek. Player welfare is a serious consideration but it can be done. We’ll start with the men’s group games and quarter-finals, at which point the wheelchair and women’s tournaments will start, so the week gap we normally have will be filled. At the moment there will only be two or three days in five weeks when there isn’t a game! Look at the Fifa World Cup in Russia: when there was a day without a game people were scratching their heads, wondering what to do. We want to have the same momentum over the five weeks.”

Papua New Guinea fans in Port Moresby enjoy their match against USA at the 2017 World Cup. Photograph: Joe Castro/AAP

Are all the games going to be exclusive to the BBC?

“Yes, they are the domestic partner. Every one of the men’s 31 games are covered live on the BBC as well as the England women’s games and the final. There’s a discussion to be had over the rest of the games, but every game of the 65 will be available to watch free-to-air, on whatever platform.”

What did you make of the Aussies’ recent curveball, throwing the agreed international schedule up in the air?

“It’s for the RFL and RLIF to work through but from the tournament’s view we were somewhat surprised given we were making plans on what we believed had been agreed. It’s imperative for us there is a quality international rugby league in a big event here – whether that is a tournament or a series – in 2020, because we’ve got to stimulate new markets. Look at Fifa: they stage the Confederations Cup in the host locality the year before the World Cup. We are no different. We have to go beyond the rugby league community. It’s really important to build up momentum. It’s critical England are playing as often as possible before and after the World Cup.”

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