Sunderland’s Stadium of Light will open the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2025 by hosting England’s Red Roses.
Twickenham will host the final of the tournament, with RFU and World Rugby bosses expecting another record attendance at the showpiece game in west London.
England will kick off the World Cup on Wearside on Friday August 22, 2025, with 49,000 tickets up for grabs in Sunderland.
The expanded 16-team tournament will finish on September 27, with hopes high for a Twickenham sell out.
Ashton Gate, the Amex Stadium, Franklin’s Gardens, Sandy Park, Salford Community Stadium and York Community Stadium are the other grounds to be used for the competition.
“Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 will be a generational moment for rugby,” said World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont.
“The biggest, most accessible and most widely viewed, its unstoppable momentum will reach, engage and inspire new audiences in ways that rugby events have not done before.
“The selection of Sunderland for the opening match underscores that mission. We want this to be a sports event that everyone is talking about, that everyone wants to be a part of and one that inspires young people to be a part of.”
England, France, Canada and New Zealand have already qualified for the 2025 World Cup, having comprised the top four teams in 2021.
