FIRST ACCELERATOR NATION PROJECT LAUNCHED AT IRL RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP

Senior officials from France, Nigeria and Wales have been embedded in the IRL Rugby League World Cup 2026 operations team to gain experience and insights into the management of the biggest event in global rugby league. 

The three-week deployment is the first output of the Accelerator Nation initiative announced by IRL last year. Ade Adebisi, Mathilde Marchand and Rob Deeney are all leaders in their national federations, but the opportunity to work at the world cup will provide their organisations with invaluable, unique experiences from the very elite end of the sport. 

“What I bring back will go straight into how NRLA operates,” said Adebisi, Nigerian rugby league’s vice Chair and general manager. “Our players have already shown they can compete internationally, and now our administration needs to match that standard. This experience will help us build stronger systems, better governance and a more professional environment for our athletes, coaches and partners.”

With a background in major events, Marchand, who became the Federation Francaise de Rugby XIII’s CEO earlier this month, was equally focused on the benefits her involvement would bring to the game in France. 

"Being part of the RLWC 2026 experience is a fantastic opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of how a major international rugby league event is delivered across different countries, from venues and accessibility to team logistics, transport, volunteers, the fan experience and event operations.

"For the French federation, the objective is clear: to bring this experience back to France and put it to work in our future international projects and major events. RLWC 2026 will be an important benchmark for adapting the best practices of an international tournament to our own context."

The Accelerator Nation project objective is to increase the value of the Rugby League World Cup by growing the number of competitive countries through a combination of activities, including the cultivation of pathways from local junior leagues to 13-a-side men’s and women’s leagues, high quality coaching and high performance coach development; providing opportunities for local youth or open age representative sides to assemble in training camps and experience elite level competition through touring IRL member nations with a generally accepted higher standard of play than the Accelerator Nation; and to support selected local player secondment to elite foreign clubs to improve the selected Accelerator Nation player’s on- and off-field standards and experience.

“Part of my role with Wales Rugby League is to plan and manage events throughout the community and national programs from juniors to men's and everything in-between,” said Deeney, WRL’s head of operations. “We have a much smaller fan base in Wales than Australian rugby league, so any insights will be a benefit for our approach to event management and growing the game in Wales.”

France, Wales and Papua New Guinea were identified as the initial cohort of Accelerator Nations in 2025, with the group subsequently extended to include one nation from each of the Americas and Middle East Africa regions. IRL’s Strategy Committee managed a months’ long application process which resulted in Nigeria selected from four invited MEA applicants. No decision has been made on the Americas nation. 

Adebisi concluded: “Our focus is on growth at every level: expanding the game in schools and universities, strengthening both our men's and women's programmes, and developing coaches and officials. We also want to ensure the MEA Championship takes place every year for both men's and women's international teams, delivered to an IRL-recognised standard. We're grateful to Alaro City for their support as a key partner, which is helping us build a sustainable future for the sport in Nigeria. Our long-term ambition is for Nigeria to host a Women's Rugby League World Cup, and this is an important step towards that.”