A COLLECTION of historic and rare trophies from the rugby league world went on display in City Hall on Saturday.

The exhibition came shortly after a partnership between local sports teams and Bradford Council announced the Bradford would bid to play a major role in the 2021 Women's Rugby League World Cup.

Thetrophies were a fantastic sight for fans of the game and included trophies from national and international competitions.

An old version of the Challenge Cup, built by Bradford trophy builders Fattorini and Sons, who also made the first FA Cup, formed part of the display.

Bradford Northern and Bradford Bulls fan Betty Hall, 88, went along to take a look at the silverware, along with players from the Bradford Bulls and Keighley Cougars women's teams.

The rare chance to view the items comes two years before the first National Rugby League Museum is due to open in Bradford, in August 2020, in time for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.

Bradford has a rich history in rugby league, with two clubs from the city helping founding the sport in 1895, and Odsal holding the record for the largest attendance at a rugby league game in the UK.

If the Bradford bid for the World Cup is selected, venues throughout the district could be used to host matches, team base camps and training camps.

Odsal Stadium, the home of the Bulls, would be used to host matches between women’s teams from across eight countries, with their state of the art training facility at Tong High School being used as a training camp.

Base camps for the international teams could include hotels across the district.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, said: “Our district is no stranger to hosting major international sporting events, with Ilkley’s Cow and Calf Rocks a stage finish location for both the women’s and men’s Tour de Yorkshire this year.

"Having the women’s element of the Rugby League World Cup in 2021 would be great for Bradford. This tournament really does bring people together from different cultures across the world and being a host would bring great benefits to the district as well as provide an excellent opportunity to showcase the district on the world stage.

“Working with our partners the Bradford Bulls and the Keighley Cougars who both have strong women’s teams the aim, as well as giving a warm welcome for these top class athletes and their fans, is to provide a sustainable legacy, especially for girls and women competing in the game across the district.”

Ken Jones, Strategic and Commercial Consultant at Bradford Bulls, said: “If our bid is successful our focus will be on engaging local schools and community groups to encourage both boys and girls to take part in rugby league events, and we also want to get into the South Asian community, where we feel that there is untapped talent."

The tournament will be hosted between October and November 2021. It will feature 16 nations in the men’s format and eight in both the women’s and wheelchair formats.