With just 500 days to go before the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup kicks off, council leader Bella Sankey and Mayor Jackie O’Quinn joined fellow councillors, RFU representatives and players from local rugby clubs for a celebration on the lawns of the iconic Royal Pavilion.
The event, which included rugby demonstrations from local teams, provided the perfect opportunity to celebrate Impact ’25 - a transformational legacy programme, which will see multi-million-pound funding injected into the game to grow women’s rugby throughout the country.
Delivered by the RFU in partnership with the UK Government, Sport England and UK Sport, the programme will provide substantial improvements in facilities and greater opportunities for females at all levels of the game in England.
Support is being offered to clubs across four key pillars: facility development, coaches and match officials, playing and volunteering, and community and fan engagement.
Excitement is already building for the tournament which will see England's Red Roses joining 15 other nations, playing matches at venues across the country.
Brighton & Hove is one of eight host cities chosen to host matches and welcome teams and fans from across the world, with two games scheduled at the Brighton & Hove Community Stadium.
Brighton & Hove City Council Leader Bella Sankey said: “Hosting this prestigious tournament in Brighton & Hove will provide us with a fantastic platform to raise the profile of women’s rugby in the city and encourage many more girls and women to get involved.
“This Impact ’25 plan, and the opportunities it will bring, has the potential to not only increase participation, but improve the health and wellbeing of thousands of women and girls.
“It also complements our Let’s Get Moving, physical activity and sport strategy which aims to provide support and opportunities for our residents to lead a more active lifestyle and make Brighton & Hove one of the most active cities in England.”
Rugby World Cup 2025 provides a once in a generation opportunity to accelerate the growth of the game for women and girls and achieve the RFU’s ambition to have 100,000 female players by 2027.
Bill Sweeney, CEO, RFU said: “The opportunity to grow the women’s game was a primary driver behind our bid to host Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025.
“Working together with Government, UK Sport, Sport England and World Rugby we will create a legacy for women’s rugby in England and the home nations, both in terms of attracting more fans and people to play, coach, officiate and volunteer.
“We are already seeing huge strides forwards being made thanks to Impact ‘25 and look forward to seeing further progress over the coming months and years.”
Red Roses centre, Amber Reed added: “It’s so great to see the ever-growing number of opportunities to get involved in rugby whether that be through playing, being a match official, as a coach or in a volunteer role.
“Rugby has given me so much and I’m so excited to see other women and girls have their lives positively changed by our sport thanks to Impact ’25 – I’d strongly encourage anyone who’s interested to get involved in the sport.”
Back in 2015, Brighton & Hove was one of the host cities for the men’s Rugby World Cup, with matches at the Brighton & Hove Albion Community Stadium including the historic shock 34-32 Japan victory over South Africa.
More recently, the Lionesses thrilled crowds at the stadium on their journey to becoming UEFA European Champions.
Councillor Alan Robins, chair of Brighton & Hove City Council’s Culture, Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Economic Committee said: “We are delighted, once again, to have been selected to showcase women’s sport at the highest level.
“Having hosted the Lionesses during their journey to becoming European Champions, it will be wonderful to welcome rugby players and fans from around the world in 2025.
“Being a host city for the Women’s Rugby World Cup, brings with it a fantastic opportunity to open up more opportunities for women and girls to play as well as involve local people in the tournament and enhance our growing reputation as a major sporting city.”
The Women’s Rugby World Cup tournament kicks off at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland on 22 August 2025.
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