International Rugby League (IRL), the global governing body for the sport, announced on Monday morning that a joint co-hosting operation across multiple countries has won the right to host an expanded RLWC in 2030.
The men's and women's tournaments will both be expanded by two nations each to 12 and 10 respectively after the 2026 men's edition was shrunk from 16 to 10 for commercial reasons.
The IRL says it is still undergoing a bidding process to determine the five host cities across the Pacific and USA, but Hawaii and western USA cities like Las Vegas and Salt Lake City are likely to come into contention not just for ease of travel but for their large Pacific expatriate communities.
It was also revealed on Monday morning that the three-game pool stage would be split into three Magic Round-style weekends where all teams converge on one location and play from Thursday to Sunday.
According to NRL.com, France are considered the frontrunners to host the wheelchair World Cup, which will be staged concurrently.
IRL head Troy Grant also confirmed Sunday's reports that eligibility rules have been unanimously expanded by the board to allow players to represent heritage nations based on their great-grandparents, instead of just their grandparents, to assist developing teams such as the Pacific Island nations, Lebanon and other previous participants such as Greece and Italy to remain competitive for future generations whilst developing their own homegrown talent.
The board also voted unanimously in favour of elevating Tonga and Samoa from Tier 2 to Tier 1 status, which would have enormous ratifications for players eligible to represent those two nations.
As it stands, a player cannot represent more than one Tier 1 nation over the course of their playing career, but can switch to a Tier 2/3 nation once every four years, meaning that under the new rules nobody representing Australia or New Zealand would be able to change allegiances to Tonga or Samoa.
Grant said that decision, which needs to be approved by both Tonga and Samoa themselves, was taken "out of respect and acknowledgement of their achievements on two fronts."
"Obviously their performances on field are without question the equivalent of the current three Tier 1 nations, and secondly, these two nations have taken gigantic leaps forward regarding their governance and what they are doing domestically," he added.
