LONDON (AP) The Rugby League World Cup is set to be staged outside the sport's traditional strongholds for the first time after the United States and Canada were recommended as hosts of the 2025 tournament.
The Rugby League International Federation said Thursday that England beat a U.S.-Canada bid to host the 2021 World Cup.
However, the governing body said the U.S.-Canada bid ''scored impressively in many areas'' and that it will recommend to its congress that the countries host the 2025 tournament.
David Collier, chief executive of the RLIF, says there is an ''unprecedented opportunity to take rugby league's pinnacle event ... to the commercially lucrative and passionate sports audience of North America.''
The region will host professional rugby league from May when Toronto plays in Britain's third tier.
