With 500 days to go until the opening fixture of the Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021), tournament organisers have announced that London will act as the training base for wheelchair rugby league squads from tournament hosts England, Australia, Norway and Spain.

The country’s capital will be playing host to four wheelchair teams competing for glory as London is set to welcome fans from all over the globe to witness exhilarating sporting action at The Copper Box Arena, as well as a men’s semi-final at The Emirates Stadium, the first time a none footballing fixture will be played there.

The squads from the 21 unique nations and 32 teams will be based in different locations.

All the host cities and towns, including those who won’t be a dedicated team base (Coventry and Kirklees), will form a huge part of making the tournament a success, welcoming players from around the world and adopting them as their own, as they get behind them and cheer them on in 500 days’ time. Following this announcement, the fixtures for all three tournaments will be announced in the coming months.

RLWC2021 has today also revealed new branding for the tournament, celebrating the power of together, focusing on human interest stories and emotional connections, with the goal of connecting with a universal audience.

The new branding will also include bespoke elements from each host, drawing on recognisable icons and displaying the sense of civic pride each host has for its town or city. RLWC2021 will be asking people from each town and city to vote on the icons that make up their custom patterns in the coming months and will be doing something similar for the nations towards the end of the year.

Jon Dutton, RLWC2021 Chief Executive, said: “Today marks another hugely exciting milestone on the road to Rugby League World Cup 2021 as we celebrate 500 days until the opening fixture at St James’ Park in October next year.

“This is a real exciting announcement for London, as we know how much Londoners embrace sport in their city and how many iconic moments have happened in the capital. Famous for its diversity and fantastic culture, these nations are in for a wonderful welcome when they visit in 2021 and if the people of London have never seen wheelchair rugby league before, I encourage them all to go grab a ticket as soon as they can, as they won’t regret it!

“Our refreshed tournament identity and today’s nation base announcement can serve as an exciting reminder for the people of London of what’s to come in 2021 as we continue to build momentum towards what promises to be the biggest and best Rugby League World Cup in history.”

Please visit www.RLWC2021.com for more information and for details on how to sign up to the receive ticket alerts and all the latest news first.