TOKYO, Jan 15 (Kyodo/APP): The Japan Rugby Football Union has officially launched its bid to host the 2035 Rugby World Cup, looking to repeat the success of the 2019 tournament held in the country.
“We want to create the best World Cup not only for the rugby world, but for Japan and the rest of the world,” JRFU President Masato Tsuchida said at a press conference Wednesday in Tokyo.
The JRFU, which submitted an expression of interest to World Rugby last Friday, will also consider a fallback bid to host the 2039 edition, Tsuchida indicated.
Tsuchida previously confirmed the plans to host the 2035 tournament during an interview with Kyodo News in London last September.
The sport’s global ruling body is scheduled to select a preferred hosting candidate in May 2027 and make an official decision in November that year.
Australia is hosting the next World Cup in 2027, with the following tournament in 2031 to be held in the United States.
Japan received high praise for the 2019 World Cup, the first edition to be held in Asia, but faces stiff competition from other potential hosts including Spain, as well as a possible joint bid from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.