International Rugby League

https://www.intrl.sport/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/intrl/

International Rugby League is a Privately Owned organization headquartered in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1927, the organization employs approximately 20 individuals. It functions as the global governing body for the contact sport of rugby league football.

2024 Revenue

Founded

1927

Headcount

Headquarters

United Kingdom

Primary Segment

Contact sports

Ownership

Privately Owned

News Summary:

International Rugby League (IRL) announced on July 28, 2026, that Premier Sports secured broadcast rights for the IRL Rugby League World Cup 2026 in Canada and South-East Asia, with Premier Sports set to air matches in 21 countries. The tournament is scheduled to commence in Sydney on October 15 with a match between Australia and New Zealand. Previously, on June 24, 2026, European Rugby League outlined technical education and development plans for match officials at the upcoming European Under 19s Championship, a project supported by IRL. On June 22, 2026, IRL began recruiting for three key positions within its Classifications framework: Chair of the Classifications Advisory Group, Chief Classifier, and Head of Classifications. This followed the June 12, 2026, decision finding five directors of the Serbian Rugby League Federation guilty of misconduct. Radoslav Novaković, Nenad Zujic, Admir Hadžić, Marija Maslaković, and Lazar Živković were charged in October 2025 with attempting to bring IRL secretary general Danny Kazandjian into disrepute, with their appeal dismissed on June 11, 2026.

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Jul

28th

2026

06:30

Sports Rights Updates, B2B Tag, Partnerships, Geographic Expansion

IRL announces Premier Sports as RLWC26 broadcast partner for SE Asia and Canada

International Rugby League is pleased to announce that Premier Sports has been awarded the broadcast rights for IRL Rugby League World Cup 2026 in Canada and South-East Asia. Kicking off in Sydney on October 15 with a heavyweight clash between Australia and New Zealand, RLWC26 will be the best and most competitive Rugby League World Cup yet and Premier Sports will broadcast matches in 21 countries across the two regions.

International Rugby League

Jul

28th

2026

01:55

Sports Rights Updates, B2B Tag, Partnerships

IRL announces Premier Sport as RLWC26 broadcast partner for SE Asia and Canada

International Rugby League

Jun

24th

2026

15:00

B2B Tag

U19s European Championships: Match officials, technical education plans announced

European Rugby League has announced the match officials squad for next month’s European Under 19s Championship which will take place at the CREPS Font Romeu high performance facility. As with previous events, technical education and development will also be firmly on the agenda, supported by International Rugby League as part of its technical education project, with a “match officials booster” project taking place within the tournament programme.

International Rugby League

Jun

22nd

2026

17:11

B2B Tag

IRL Classification: Recruitment Opportuntities

IRL is seeking to recuit the following three positions within the Classifications framework: Chair of the Classifications Advisory Group IRL Chief Classifier IRL Head of Classifications Please find links to each of the job descritpions above. The deadline for applications for all three roles are detailed on each job description. Applications and queries should be submitted to Charlotte Monkman, charlotte.monkman@internationalrugbyleague.com.

International Rugby League

Jun

12th

2026

01:00

B2B Tag

Misconduct hearing: Serbian RLF directors found guilty

The five Directors of the Serbian Rugby League Federation have been found guilty of misconduct following a complaint brought by the IRL Board of Directors. Radoslav Novaković, Nenad Zujic, Admir Hadžić, Marija Maslaković and Lazar Živković were charged in October with attempting to bring IRL secretary general Danny Kazandjian into disrepute over a period of several months and have been sanctioned following the dismissal of their appeal on June 11, 2026.

International Rugby League

Jun

3rd

2026

14:03

B2B Tag

Portugal joins the IRL family; multiple changes to membership register

Portugal Rugby League has been approved to become International Rugby League's 56th national federation. A vote of International Rugby League Full Member nations approved Portugal Rugby League's admission into the IRL as an Observer Member.

International Rugby League

Mar

25th

2026

18:30

Events, B2B Tag

Fiji face risk of being kicked out of 2026 Rugby League World Cup – Total Rugby League

FIJI BATI are at risk of being kicked out of the 2026 Rugby League World Cup. That’s because Fiji National Rugby League’s (FNRL) has failed to submit its Annual Membership Audit, as well as failing to in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Total Rugby League

Mar

17th

2026

01:30

B2B Tag

England receive major World Cup boost as international rugby league removes tiering in women's game

International women’s rugby league has seen a major shake-up after a historic rule change was announced by the sport’s governing body. With a World Cup at the end of the year, the rules on international eligibility have been changed opening up massive opportunities for players with Australian, New Zealand and English heritage.

Serious About Rugby League

Mar

15th

2026

18:30

B2B Tag

England handed potential Women’s World Cup boost by IRL change – Total Rugby League

ENGLAND could be able to call upon more stars of the NRLW in this year’s World Cup after the International Rugby League scrapped its tiering system. Under the previous rules, players could only represent a single ‘tier one’ nation – Australia, England or New Zealand – in their career, like in the men’s game.

Total Rugby League

Mar

13th

2026

04:14

B2B Tag

Fiji league says it's met international body requirements

Fiji National Rugby League (FNRL) says they have fully met the requirements given by the International Rugby League, after filing their annual membership audit report this week. FNRL said on Friday that David Butler, head of membership and competitions at International Rugby League (IRL), had responded to them: "I am happy to inform you that I think we have sufficient information from FNRL now to mark you as compliant with the AMA [annual membership audit].

RNZ

Mar

11th

2026

12:51

B2B Tag

Kalyn Ponga confirmed eligible for NZ Kiwis

A coup for NZRL with Kalyn Ponga confirmed to switch from the Australia to the Kiwis after the IRL Board unanimously approved his application to play for New Zealand. Ponga requested to switch Tier 1 eligibility, his first match for the Kiwis could be in the RLWC2026 opener against the Kangaroos on October 15 in Sydney.

Nzsportswire

Jan

13th

2026

14:06

B2B Tag

Vale David Collier

International Rugby League is saddened by the passing of the Federation’s former Chief Executive David Collier OBE, aged 70. David became the IRL’s first fulltime CEO in 2015 and oversaw a period of growth in the number of playing nations during his three years at the helm.

International Rugby League

International Rugby League sells broadcasting rights of its 2 rugby League competitions to 16 companies globally, covering 7 countries. International Rugby League's rights holders include BBC.