A BID to bring the world’s top rugby league stars to Huddersfield has been lodged.
Kirklees Council and the area’s sporting clubs have formally submitted a bid to bring the 2013 Rugby League World Cup to the region.
They want to stage games at the Galpharm Stadium and use Batley’s Mount Pleasant ground and Dewsbury’s Tetley Stadium as training bases.
The Leeds Road sports complex could also be used for training by the top sides.
And several hotels have backed the bid with the hope of catering for thousands of international tourists.
The Rugby Football League plan to run a 14 team competition over a five-week period from October to November 2013.
Twelve of the teams are already known and include reigning champions New Zealand, Australia, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cook Islands, France, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga.
The two additional qualifiers will be determined in October.
The Kirklees bid also highlights the historical links with Rugby League with the George Hotel being the birthplace of the sport in 1895 and home of the Rugby League Heritage Centre.
Clr Mehboob Khan, Leader of Kirklees Council, said: “Rugby League is a big part of the social and sporting fabric of Kirklees and Huddersfield is the birthplace of the sport. “Both Batley and Dewsbury also have great traditions as rugby league towns in the heartland of the game, and the amateur clubs across Kirklees are often at the heart of their local communities.
“I hope this will result in the whole of Kirklees being able to benefit from a major international event coming to the borough through a big increase in visitors to the area”.
