Organisers hope the 2025 Rugby World Cup can supercharge women and girls’ participation in the sport.
The tournament, hosted in England, gets underway next August and finishes at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham next September.
With record crowds expected, World Rugby are looking to harness the power of the Rugby World Cup to maximise its global impact.
Its Impact Beyond 2025 strategy is designed to put women and girls at the heart of the growth of the game globally.
The programme has three overarching aims; to increase rugby’s profile and participation rates amongst women across the globe, increase the number of women working in rugby and improve governance in national unions.
World Rugby Chief of Women’s Rugby Sally Horrox said: “Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 promises to be an era defining celebration of rugby, as well as a catalyst for participation, economic and fan growth.
“Women and girls represent the most addressable opportunity to spearhead the growth of rugby and make a positive impact across the wider game and wider society.
“The time to act is now, and we are looking forward to working with unions and regions to implement initiatives that will strengthen the game on and off the field.”
The Impact Beyond 2025 programme was launched with less than a year to go until the action gets underway in England next summer.
This includes World Rugby’s first bespoke girls’ participation programme, Rugby Rising Play, which is focussed on expanding teenage female participation rates across the world to create the next generation of players.
The programme also includes a number of career development opportunities for women looking to work within the rugby industry, including a new Women’s Player Learning Portal to enable players to learn during their careers on the pitch.
ChildFund Rugby will also be hosting Grassroots to Global community forums across the globe. This will address barriers to women coaching rugby at grassroots level through 30+ Grassroots to Global forums, involving more than 900 women in community rugby.
World Rugby Chairman, Sir Bill Beaumont said: “Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 England will be an era-defining moment for the game. Not simply because it will be the biggest celebration of women’s rugby ever, but because it will change the game.
“Our ambitious Impact Beyond 2025 programme will harness the incredible momentum of the tournament to guide strong and sustainable growth across all areas of the women’s game, a focus that will grow the game as a whole.
“We look forward to implementing the global Impact Beyond 2025 plan in partnership with our membership to create a tangible, targeted legacy.”
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