2019 Rugby WC Organizers Receive Interest In Hosting Training Camps

Tournament organizers said that a total of 90 local governments from 37 prefectures have "applied to host official team training camps for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan," according to KYODO. The number of applications filed by the deadline in December came to 76. Organizers added that "candidate sites will be selected this summer" and national teams taking part in the tourney will "inspect them and decide next year which one to use." Organizing Committee CEO Akira Shimazu indicated that an "upper limit will not be set" for the number of candidate sites. He said that "he wants any location that meets the criteria for camp sites to be considered as contenders." Fifty-seven local governments filed applications individually, while 19 of the submissions were joint efforts by multiple bodies (KYODO, 1/11).