World Rugby Launches Impact Beyond 2025 Global Impact Programme

World Rugby has launched its Impact Beyond 2025 Global Impact programme with the aim of capturing the long-standing positive impact of Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 and supercharging the rise of women’s rugby beyond 2025.

Photo Credit: ChildFund Rugby

The governing body confirmed that the plan was launched via a series of webinars for unions and regions in September 2024 and World Rugby will partner with stakeholders to implement the plan across the globe.

World Rugby Chairman, Sir Bill Beaumont said: “Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 England will be an era-defining moment for the game. Not simply because it will be the biggest celebration of women’s rugby ever, but because it will change the game.”

Sir Bill Beaumont added, “Our ambitious Impact Beyond 2025 programme will harness the incredible momentum of the tournament to guide strong and sustainable growth across all areas of the women’s game, a focus that will grow the game as a whole. We look forward to implementing the global Impact Beyond 2025 plan in partnership with our membership to create a tangible, targeted legacy.”

What is the Impact Beyond 2025 Global Impact Programme?

Impact Beyond 2025 is built on three core themes and nine strategic initiatives. World Ruby says that “each theme will ensure that women and girls continue to be at the heart of rugby’s advancement, creating more opportunities at every level.”

The three core themes of Impact Beyond 2025, are:

1. Profile and participation
2. Careers and gender equity
3. Capability and expertise within a whole-game approach with the mission of inspiring more women and girls to get into rugby on and off the field of play.

World Rugby Chief of Women’s Rugby Sally Horrox commented, “Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 promises to be an era-defining celebration of rugby, as well as a catalyst for participation, economic and fan growth. Women and girls represent the most addressable opportunity to spearhead the growth of rugby and make a positive impact across the wider game and wider society.

The time to act is now, and we are looking forward to working with unions and regions to implement initiatives that will strengthen the game on and off the field.”

1. Profile and participation – Increasing the Global Love of Rugby

The plan involved increasing the visibility of female athletes and sharing the powerful stories behind the teams and players to inspire more women and girls to embrace rugby and make it a lifelong passion.

• Rugby Rising Play – World Rugby’s first bespoke girls’ participation programme focused on expanding the active teenage female player base globally and creating the next generation of players retained in the game.
• The initiative enables membership unions to implement a tailored rugby programme for girls that also creates a holistic learning environment aligning with rugby’s values – with a wellbeing initiative a core part of this.
• A successful pilot which ran across nine unions in five regions from 2023 through to 2024 saw 5,300 girls play rugby for the first time.
• RWC 2025 Content Creators are a core part of the plan and will be used to drive the global profile and visibility of women’s rugby, through embedded ‘point of view’ content creators across the tournament.

2. Careers and Gender Equity – More Women In Rugby

Inspiring, connecting and retaining women in the rugby ecosystem is a key goal and this is hoped to be achieved through a “series of career development, work experience and networking opportunities, World Rugby will foster a global network of leaders who are passionate about advancing women’s rugby.”

• Players worldwide will have access to personal development resources through the launch of a new Women’s Player Learning Portal in collaboration with the International Rugby Players Association. The plan is to launch this in Q1 2025.
• The portal will offer access to support on and off-field development resources.
• ChildFund Rugby will be hosting Grassroots to Global community forums across the globe to address barriers to women coaching rugby at grassroots level through 30+ Grassroots to Global forums, involving more than 900 women in community rugby. It’s planned to unite 70+ women at the RWC 2025 Grassroots to Global Connect Forum

3. Capability and Expertise – Stronger Sustainable Rugby Unions

This also will enhance capability and expertise within World Rugby’s member unions to equip the rugby community with the tools and knowledge needed to continue growing the game.

• World Rugby will hosts its Women’s Rugby Global Summit at RWC 2025.
• Six regional Impact Beyond summits, delivered across 2024-2026 to build additional expertise locally to expand the women’s global network. The Asian summit is due in December 2024.
• A funding toolkit will be made available to all unions in 2025.
• New research and insights into the commercial value and audience opportunity of women’s rugby will be presented at RWC 2025.

What RWC 2025 Impact Programmes Are There

ChildFund Rugby

ChildFund has again been appointed as the tournament Social Impact Partner for the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025.

Funds raised through RWC 2025 ticket sales and donations will be used to make a lasting impact via ChildFund Rugby and help change the lives of vulnerable girls and boys across the world

Impact ‘25

Impact Beyond 2025 will run alongside Impact ‘25, the RFU’s transformational domestic legacy programme designed to accelerate the growth of women’s and girls’ rugby throughout England and the home nations.

The plan has already seen £12.13 million of Government funding committed to the sport in England and the home unions up to the end of March 2025. This has created more opportunities for women and girls to get involved in rugby and help the RFU achieve its ambition of 100,000 female players by 2027.

You can access the Impact Beyond 2025 Plan here.

Rugby World Cup England 2025 News

• Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 Tickets – What Fans Need to Know.
• Opening And Closing Venues – Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025.
• Rugby World Cup 2025 – England Host Cities Confirmed.
• Gallagher was announced as the official partner of Women’s Rugby, WXV and RWC 2025.