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This evening in Hull one of the city’s namesake Super League teams takes on NRL champions Brisbane Broncos in the resurrected World Club Challenge rugby league match.
The – usually – annual match has been played just twice since 2020 due to Covid-19 in 2021 and 2022 but was waived last year after Australian side Penrith Panthers withdrew.
The other two matches have been won by English teams: St Helens in 2023 down in Penrith and Wigan Warriors the following year up in the northern heartlands.
But the game returns for 2026 with Hull KR taking on the Brisbane Broncos. And much of how Thursday’s game came about is fascinating.
Firstly, it’s not taking place at Hull Kingston Rovers’ Craven Park given the limited 11,000 capacity of the stadium. Instead the red side of Hull will cross inner-city borders to the home of Hull FC and the 25,000-capacity MKM Stadium, which is shared with the eponymous Championship football club.
This was a controversial move but deemed necessary given England, as home of the reigning champions, are hosting the game and the keenness to ensure that it is profitable while remaining in Hull.
Return of World CLub Challenge
And secondly, like much of sport at the moment, there was big money interest to host the match in the Middle East. This was, though, rejected.
Reports emerged last year that Qatar – which is set for an increasingly strong role in opposite code rugby union – had offered a six-figure payday for the teams should Doha host the match. Rugby league turned down the one-time sum due to a commitment by Hull KR to play Leeds Rhinos in Las Vegas as part of rugby league’s attempts to increase US viewership.
Going from Doha to the US was deemed a lot for the travelling team, while those in Hull would have missed out on their side hosting the best team in the southern hemisphere.
Attempts to take the game to Brisbane were scuppered by pop star Ed Sheeran, who had booked out the Suncorp Stadium for his latest tour.
So tonight’s World Club Challenge is in the wrong stadium having very nearly been in the Middle East. It is between the two regional powers of rugby league and has long-time been a sell-out.
But fans should be happy that the game is back, because it is unique to rugby league and a spectacle that draws eyes to a sport that needs all the help it can get.
