BRADFORD Council, in conjunction with Bradford Bulls and Keighley Cougars, are one of 40 applicants who met the July 31 deadline to submit bids to host matches in the 2021 World Cup.

Another 40 applications were received to provide training camps for the 16 teams and officials will now start to sift through the applications before announcing their decision next January.

A total of 28 towns and cities expressed a desire to become involved with the tournament, which will feature men's, women's and wheelchair events simultaneously for the first time.

The Rugby Football League has said that 80 per cent of the men's fixtures will be played in the northern powerhouse as a result of the Government's £25million pledge.

The RFL's Jon Dutton, who is the tournament's chief executive, said: "Today is another significant milestone in our journey ahead of what will be the biggest and best ever RLWC in history.

"We've been delighted with not just the quantity but the quality of the applications we have received.

"The next stage is for us go through each and every bid in detail to allow us to make the best possible decisions for the tournament - this journey will include site visits and further conversations in the next few months before we reveal the outcomes early next year."

The Bradford bid team of Phil Barker and Andy Ross from Bradford Council, Jones and Russ McFarlane from Bradford Bulls and Neil Cullen from Keighley Cougars expect to hear within a month to six weeks if their World Cup bid has been successful.

Although Odsal Stadium and Lawkholme Lane have both staged men's matches in past World Cups, their online bid for the RLWC2021 will this time focus on hosting women's matches.

The tournament in three years' time will also have wheelchair matches, as well as men's and women's games.