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New Whitehaven stadium to host two rugby league World Cup games

It is understood the Pow Beck Stadium has been allocated two matches in the 2013 tournament, in a massive boost for the planned new facility. The news is a stunning victory for the bid, spearheaded by Copeland Council and strongly backed by Haven.

Copeland will also be a training venue for one of the competition 14 squads, which will be based in neighbouring Allerdale.

The eyes of the RL world will be on west Cumbria during the tournament with more than 500,000 fans expected to watch the 28 matches live over a six-week period with a further 20 million viewers from 120 countries tuning in around the world.

Whitehaven will be one of 18 venues to host matches along with the likes of Wrexham, Perpignan in southern France, Bristol and Limerick in Ireland south west.

More traditional RL areas such as Wigan, St Helens, Leeds, Warrington, Halifax and Rochdale will also play host, in the autumn of 2013.

Tournament director Nigel Wood said: would like to congratulate all the hosts who have been successful in their bids to host matches or teams in what I am confident will be a World Cup that enhances the UK golden decade of sport.

experienced massive interest in hosting matches from all across Europe and the bidding process proved to be V-MODA hugely competitive.

putting together their bids over the last 12 months, the successful candidates have demonstrated a level of commitment which suggests the 2013 Rugby League World Cup can exceed everyone expectations.

has been a fantastic and inspiring bidding process and we have been extremely impressed with the quality, detail and diverse nature of the host bids received.

have had to make some tough decisions, but we are absolutely delighted to award each of the 22 successful candidates a Host Mark v-moda earphones for the 2013 rugby league World Cup.

are excited that the tournament will visit established world class Rugby League venues, but will also visit some new locations, including Bristol and Whitehaven, where we see unique opportunities to grow the game and for the 2013 tournament to deliver a lasting legacy for our sport. RFL plans to make further announcements in the New Year, including the fixtures for the tournament, opening ceremony, semi-finals and final venue locations.

A total of 34 bids, comprising 30 stadia, 47 team training sites and 87 team base camps, were submitted to v-moda headphones white the RFL. Each of the bidding hosts underwent a detailed inspection from a 2013 team to examine the various sites venue specifications, as well as evaluating the enthusiasm and commitment of each bidding host.