World Rugby U20 Championship Could Be Expanded To Include 16 Teams In 2026 While the U20 Trophy Could Be a Cross-Regional Competition

There will be no World Rugby U20 Championship in 2025 but World Rugby has said it is consulting with national unions and regional associations regarding the possibility of expanding the World Rugby U20 Championship from 12 to 16 teams in 2026. The U20 Trophy is also due to change.

Feature Photo: Chinese Taipei Rugby

As far as we have seen, no official statement was released as to why no tournaments would be held in 2025. The Asia Rugby Emirates Mens U19 Championship 2024 was recently concluded with Japan winning the title. The four-team tournament was hosted in Chinese Taipei as the relevant Unions felt it was important for the player pathway development.

World Rugby said the expansion of the World Rugby U20 Championship is part of a “wide-ranging review of men’s age-grade competition structures aimed at increasing the competitiveness and sustainability of international rugby.”

A statement from World Rugby, says it “recognises that age-grade rugby is a proven pathway for international stars, and consultation is part of a broader strategy to better align international age-grade structures with the sport’s strategic mission of growing global competitiveness ahead of a new international calendar coming into effect in 2026 featuring a two-division Nations Cup and an expanded 24-team Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia. 

What Is Being Proposed For U20 Trophy Rugby?

Photo Credit: Chinese Taipei Rugby – U19 Korea playing Chinese Taipei – Dec 2024

Among the proposals being considered for the U20 Trophy, is a cross-regional competition from 2025 (which is odd as the assumption is there is no tournament in 2025), which would create “stronger pathways and more competitive matches for teams aiming to qualify for the expanded U20 Championship in 2026.”

World Rugby says it is working closely with stakeholders to optimise competition structures and introduce mechanisms, such as promotion and relegation, to provide development opportunities for all unions. 

The regional U20 competitions would be supported by increased funding from World Rugby to bolster structures and opportunities for all unions.

In 2024, the World Rugby Executive Board approved a £2.6 million increase in regional investment lasting until 2027, which is in addition to a record £300 million investment directly into unions and regions over the same period, and an additional record investment of £68 million in high-performance initiatives.  

It is too early to say how this will play out and impact teams in Asia. Over recent years only 3-4 teams have competed in the U19 championship in the region, and none, aside from Japan have reached the World Rugby U20 Championship level.

On December 25, 2024, members from Asia, Africa, Europe and South America held talks to establish a “long-waited” unique 15s aside product to cater the demands of potential national teams across the 4 continents said the Asia Rugby President. It did not specify details, age-grade or of it was Men’s, Women’s or both.

The funding aspect would be tricky too considering Asia Rugby is still not receiving funding from World Rugby directly since the E&Y Audit was released and the World Rugby EXCO took a decision to suspend sending monies to the Asian governing body as after four years, it still had not setup a properly recognised entity in the UAE, so funds were being sent to the UAERF before being passed on to Asia Rugby.

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