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While the United States will host the 2031 Rugby World Cup, the country deploys an ambitious strategy: attract Antoine Dupont, organize matches from the six nations and transform rugby into the American show. Objective: to conquer a new market.
What if the future of rugby passes through America? Seven years from the 2031 male World Cup, organized across the Atlantic, the United States apparently accelerated its offensive to transform a sport-from niche to America-in planetary spectacle. Objective: make the World Cup an event that meets the Super Bowl, and open to the discipline the doors of the most lucrative sports market in the world.
NFL stadiums, Antoine Dupont and giant concerts
Bill Goren, CEO of USA Rugby affirms it, as the Daily Mail : The 2031 tournament will be “an event like no other”. The matches should be played in NFL stadiums with massive capacity, transformed for the occasion into High-Tech rugby arenas. The idea? Reproduce the Super Bowl model with animations, musical shows and extraordinary production.
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“We are six years old to further develop our infrastructure. We are talking about events where we can bring a scene on the field for a concert, then remove it before kick -off,” said Goren.
To support this strategy, USA Rugby even plans to host matches of the Six Nations tournament on American soil. A first in the history of European rugby, designed to seduce the local public more than for sporting performance.
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Dupont and Rees-Zammit in world rugby ambassadors
The American conquest also involves familiar faces. Captain of the XV of France Antoine Dupont recently made a promotional trip to the United States. Behind the scenes, Major League Rugby explores the means to have it played across the Atlantic before 2031. Same logic for Louis Rees-Zammit, ex-Welsh ex-star today converted to the NFL. Two young, dynamic and perfectly “bankable” figures to capture a new audience.
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Ilona Maher, a American star of female rugby rugby and a real phenomenon on the networks, also embodies this momentum. With her image and several sponsorship contracts, she has become an essential face of discipline in the United States.
A MLS model, a billionaire ambition
The parallel with football is assumed. Before the 1994 World Cup, no one imagined the Soccer Pierce in the United States. Today, the MLS is well installed and the country is hosting the 2026 World Cup. Rugby wants to follow the same path.
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The challenge is immense: only 84,000 licensees in the United States today, out of 340 million inhabitants. But the leaders believe in it. Goren, who passed through the MLB and the NBA, hammers him: “The Americans follow the winners. It is up to us to become.”
World Rugby aims at a billion dollars in ticketing income in 2031. To get there, it will take much more than matches: it will take a show, a culture and a popular craze. The race is launched.
