Tokyo: Rugby’s world body on Thursday called on Japan to supply a list of confirmed venues for the 2019 World Cup after Tokyo’s “disappointing” decision to remove the future national stadium from the line-up amid huge cost overruns.
World Rugby said it was giving the tournament’s Japanese hosts until the end of September to come up with a “revised detailed host venue proposal that delivers exceptional team and fan experience, maximising opportunities for fans to be a part of rugby’s showcase event”.
The governing body has also requested a fresh tournament budget that supplies “appropriate financial security”.
The demands come after Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shocked World Rugby last month, when he scrapped plans for the national stadium for the 2020 Olympics.
The stadium had been scheduled to host Rugby World Cup matches in 2019, including the showpiece final.
Abe said the $2 billion (Dh7.34 billion) cost of the stadium was too high and a new design should be found. As a result, any new stadium will not be ready by 2019.
“Following... the Japanese government’s disappointing decision to remove the new national stadium from the inventory of Rugby World Cup 2019 host venues, World Rugby has set out a revised roadmap for the Japan Rugby 2019 organising committee to deliver key assurances regarding the successful delivery of the tournament,” it said in a statement.
The governing body also added that the loss of the venue “has significant impact on the overall ticketing capacity and tournament budget”.
