200 days to go until the Rugby League World Cup!

As Official Social Care Partner, Community Integrated Care is excited to be celebrating today (Tuesday 29^th March) as 200 days to go until the Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021) kicks off, when England take on Samoa in the tournaments’ opening fixture at St James’ Park, Newcastle on 15 October 2022.

To commemorate the milestone, the tournament is undertaking a 48-hour trophies tour of the 18 host towns and cities in celebration of a 48-hour ticket upgrade offer, whereby fans can benefit from a ticket upgrade that is too good to miss. Fans can buy a Category C ticket for a number of opening matches and get upgraded to a Category B, meaning fans can secure one of the best seats in the house, with prices starting from just £15.

Our charity is proud to have teamed up with the RLWC2021 to enable people we support, who are part of the tournament’s Power Squad of volunteers, to help assist with media duties, photography, and refreshments at each location, as well as taking part in celebratory fun, through our Inclusive Volunteer Programme.

The trophies tour, whereby the silverware from the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments will be paraded around the towns and cities getting ready to host the 61 matches of the upcoming World Cup, commences at 07:00 in Newcastle with RLWC2021 Ambassador Jason Robinson, joining famous names from Newcastle’s array of clubs. Together, they will attempt an audacious challenge of kicking the Sully Ball, the RLWC2021 Official Match Ball, through a giant RLWC2021 logo which will be floating on the River Tyne.

The tour will then pass through six of the other host locations, including Leeds’ Headingley Stadium, before making its final stop of the first 24 hours in Kirklees at Huddersfield’s John Smith’s Stadium.

Day two on Wednesday 30th March will begin at Manchester’s Old Trafford, the home of the double header finals of the men’s and women’s tournaments. The journey will then continue to visit the remaining host locations, before its final stop being the Emirates Stadium in London.

The promotional tour will also feature the Tournament’s new campaign ‘This is Real Impact’, to support ticket promotion and provide a platform to tell the many stories of the contribution the Tournament is making in communities through its social impact programme and in respect to inclusivity in hosting the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments under one World Cup for the first time in the sport’s history.

Jon Dutton, Chief Executive of RLWC2021, said: “After a challenging couple of years for everyone, it is hugely exciting to be able to take our three unique trophies to each host partner as they put on their own celebration and make a ‘Real Impact’ in their local community.

“The road to RLWC2021 starts now and with this limited ticket offer and exciting new campaign being released, we hope to encourage fans far and wide be involved in the biggest, best and most inclusive Rugby League World ever to be staged.”

Ticket prices for the tournament start as low as £2.21 for concessions, as the unique tournament will be one of the most accessible and affordable for fans with more than 80% of tickets priced below £50. Fans can purchase tickets via www.rlwc2021.com/tickets.

You can follow the Trophies Tour live on RLWC2021’s official social media channels Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, with exclusive content including interviews, event snaps and behind-the-scenes footage of the 48-hour tour.