The IRFU will spend €1.5 million to deliver the Women’s Rugby World Cup in Ireland in August bringing total spend on women’s representative rugby to over €3.6m. The union will be hoping that it’s a precursor for winning the rights to hosts the 2023 men’s equivalent, a decision that will be announced in November.
The total cost of the Women’s Rugby World Cup is expected to come in just over €4 million with supplementary funding being provided by World Rugby, the Irish Government and council funding, partnerships, ticket revenues and sponsorship.
In addition to the €1.5million invested in WRWC17, funding to the women’s programme increased by 25 per season this season from over €1.7million to in excess of €2.1million. A further 25 per sent increase in funding for the women’s programme has been budgeted for the 2017-18 season.
UCD will host the pool stages of the tournament – all of Ireland’s games are sellouts – while the knockout matches will be staged at Queens University and the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast.
The IRFU has put a financial package in place for the Ireland Women’s WRWC17 squad to compensate them for out of pocket expenses during the tournament which unlike the Six Nations will be played mid-week and at weekends.
Kevin Potts, the IRFU’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “The successful delivery of the Women’s Rugby World Cup is of huge importance for the future growth of the game in Ireland.
“There has been fantastic engagement all across the Island with the trophy tour and the infrastructure and resources that are being put in place will ensure the tournament is a huge success and the most memorable Women’s Rugby World Cup in history.
The IRFU is committed to increasing funding to the women’s game and supporting its growth by creating a legacy from WRWC17.”
