Jesse Lingard, former WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew and ex-England cricket captain Michael Vaughan were among the sports stars who revealed the team bases for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.
The tournament will take place in England next year, with matches shared between 18 venues for the men's World Cup and the final to be held at Old Trafford.
On Wednesday, the team bases were confirmed, with Manchester United and England midfielder Lingard kicking things off with confirmation Manchester would be hosting England and Australia.
Bellew was then on hand to provide tips on Merseyside to Tonga star Konrad Hurrell and coach Kristian Woolf, with their side – along with Italy – to be based in Liverpool and St Helens.
500 days to go. 32 teams. 21 unique nations.
— Rugby League World Cup 2021 (@RLWC2021) June 10, 2020
Here are the locations of the team bases for all competing nations across the men’s, women’s, and wheelchair tournaments. #PowerOfTogether | #RLWC2021 pic.twitter.com/nCdWJspvMf
There was also confirmation that New Zealand would be based in York, Samoa in Doncaster and Papua New Guinea in Warrington – with Warrington Wolves fan Stuart Pearce joining the announcement.
Fiji will be hosted in Hull, while Lebanon have been placed in Wigan and Leigh, and France will be based in Bolton.
Wales and Scotland will be located in Preston and Newcastle respectively, and boxer Josh Warrington was on hand to inform Ireland and Jamaica of their place in Leeds.
Sheffield was the final team base to be confirmed, with Johnny Nelson – the longest reigning cruiserweight of all time – and Vaughan announcing the city as Greece's home for the tournament.
