England to host Touch World Cup in 2024

The Board of the Federation of International Touch (FIT) has today voted to elect England as the host nation for the 10th Touch World Cup (TWC) in 2024.

It’s the first time Touch’s flagship event has been held in England and the first time in the UK since 2011, when it was hosted in Edinburgh, Scotland. The last TWC in 2019 was hosted in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

The FIT board met on Sunday, 9 October, in a video link-up to evaluate the competing expressions of interest before settling on England Touch Association’s submission.

Peter Topp, Director of FIT, said: “We encourage international events that deliver the best possible event experience for athletes and fans and leave solid legacies for local communities.

"England Touch’s vision and World Cup plan fit into long-term regional and national strategies for the social andeconomic development of our game in the UK and complement the goals for Touch outlined in our emerging vision for the sport.

"The Board considered the expressions of interest received and agreed that England Touch’s approach delivered on all the desired criteria and identified a significant legacy component within its bid, which supports FIT’s desire to grow the game globally. It therefore made sense to take this geographic approach to showcase the game.’’

Following restrictions on international travel and competition over the past few years, Topp said England provided a balanced approach to the delivery and legacy of FIT’s showcase event.

“While it was a tough decision, FIT is thrilled to be taking our leading international event to England in 2024.”

England Touch Association (ETA) Chief Executive, Chris Simon, said the sport’s governing body in England is thrilled with the decision to host the 10th TWC inn England, due to be staged in the British summer of 2024.

“We are delighted that England was chosen to host the next Touch World Cup in 2024, and we would like to thank FIT for their trust in the ETA to deliver an event that builds on the previous World Cup in Malaysia in 2019," he said.

"Following us hosting the successful European Championships in August 2022, we are excited to be able to bring the World Cup here and have set ambitious targets for our first hosting of this prestigious global event.

"We will engage both the private and public sector, focusing on the health and wellbeing, sustainability, and economic impact the event will have on England and the wider community. We want to leave a lasting legacy on participation,but also on the growing and developing industry around the sport of Touch.

"The game of Touch is easy to play - in schools, universities, parks and open spaces and we are looking forward toworking with others who share our desire to use this event to make a real difference to people and businesses in our communities."

More details about the venue and dates will be announced in due course.