{"id":234175,"date":"2025-10-23T04:44:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T04:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/234175\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T04:44:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T04:44:07","slug":"ed-sheeran-beats-broncos-for-suncorp-stadium-wcc-to-be-played-overseas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/234175\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed Sheeran beats Broncos for Suncorp Stadium &#8211; WCC to be played overseas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-end=\"132\" data-start=\"0\">Reece Walsh and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportingnews.com\/au\/rugby-league\/brisbane-broncos\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Broncos<\/a> might be the NRL\u2019s biggest show in town, but even they\u2019ve been upstaged by global megastar Ed Sheeran.<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"319\" data-start=\"134\">Brisbane\u2019s home ground, Suncorp Stadium, has been booked out for the same weekend as the proposed World Club Challenge, forcing the premiers to take their clash with Hull KR overseas.<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"466\" data-start=\"321\">The showdown between the NRL and Super League champions is now set to be played in England in February 2026 \u2013 16,000 kilometres away from home.<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"647\" data-start=\"468\">It\u2019s a blow for Broncos fans hoping to see their team chase another title at Suncorp, but the club insists the overseas trip will only add to their growing international appeal.<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"647\" data-start=\"468\">MORE:\u00a0<a target=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sportingnews.com\/au\/rugby-league\/news\/gehamat-shibasaki-australia-debut-brisbane-broncos-ashes-qld\/8deaee3318f915ab8ea559a5\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Broncos and Maroons star Gehamat Shibasaki set to make Australia debut<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sheeran show forces venue change<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"832\" data-start=\"689\">Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy confirmed that Ed Sheeran\u2019s February 20 concert had made it impossible to host the World Club Challenge in Brisbane.<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"939\" data-start=\"834\">\u201cWe think the opportunity to chase another trophy will be motivating for the whole club,\u201d Donaghy said.<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"1048\" data-start=\"941\">\u201cWe are having really productive discussions with Hull at the moment and hope we can finalise those soon.<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"1180\" data-start=\"1050\">\u201cWe looked at inviting Hull here, however with them competing in the Las Vegas concept next year it would have been challenging.<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"1278\" data-start=\"1182\">\u201cAs it turns out, it will be packed anyway with plenty of concert goers attending Ed Sheeran.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>English venues under consideration<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"1453\" data-start=\"1322\">With the Suncorp option ruled out, Elland Road in Leeds and Hull\u2019s MKM Stadium have emerged as the frontrunners to host the game.<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"1565\" data-start=\"1455\">Wembley was considered but deemed too large, with concerns that the 90,000-seat venue could look half-empty.<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"1669\" data-start=\"1567\">Ironically, Sheeran himself hails from Halifax \u2013 just a short distance from both potential stadiums.<\/p>\n<p>Broncos going global<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"1843\" data-start=\"1699\">The match is slated for February 19 or 20 (UK time), giving Hull KR time to recover before their Las Vegas clash against Leeds on February 28.<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"2009\" data-start=\"1845\">The Broncos haven\u2019t featured in a World Club Challenge since 2007, but coach Michael Maguire and the club\u2019s management are determined to make it happen this time.<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"2170\" data-start=\"2011\">\u201cIt\u2019s a really unique and appealing concept for the champions of the northern and southern hemisphere competitions to play against each other,\u201d Donaghy said.<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"2252\" data-start=\"2172\">\u201cFor multiple reasons, it\u2019s been cancelled three times in the last five years.<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"2401\" data-start=\"2254\">\u201cOn the back of the Kangaroos being over there for their tour against England, we feel there will be a strong interest in the game and our club.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Reece Walsh and the Broncos might be the NRL\u2019s biggest show in town, but even they\u2019ve been upstaged&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":234176,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-234175","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-national-rugby-league","11":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234175\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/234176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}