England could be stripped of their status as a Test-playing rugby league nation over an unpaid rights fee of around £410,000 from the last World Cup, with emergency talks due this weekend.

Reports in Australia say the Rugby Football League (RFL) owes about $800,000 to the International Rugby League (IRL) from the 2022 World Cup, held in England after a year's delay. The money is an outstanding rights fee, partly repaid in instalments, but repayments have reportedly stopped.

New RFL chief executive Ian Nolan is due to meet IRL chairman Troy Grant to try to settle the matter. If no agreement is reached, the IRL could remove England's Test status, meaning players would lose official caps and prize money.

Both sides dispute the debt

The RFL says no debt is owed. Its position, first set out in November 2025, is that any liability belongs to the World Cup '21 committee that organised the tournament. The IRL argues the committee was created by the RFL and notes the alleged debt was recorded on the RFL's own accounts.

In a statement on Friday, the RFL said its position had not changed, its new board had reviewed the matter and also concluded no debt was owed, and it remains a committed member of International Rugby League.

A home series at stake

The row comes weeks after England were knocked out of the 2026 World Cup in Australia at the group stage, a first for England or Great Britain. England are due to host New Zealand in a home Test series in autumn 2027, a fixture that could be in jeopardy if the dispute is not resolved. Tonga were the last major nation to lose Test status, in 2019.