Rugby League is set to take its place at the heart of the country’s most vibrant business and media community by basing its Rugby League World Cup 2013 operations at MediaCityUK.

The dedicated Rugby League World Cup 2013 staff will begin moving into office space at MediaCityUK next month, when they will rub shoulders with some of the most famous and creative individuals and organisations in the media world.

These include BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Breakfast, ITV, Children’s BBC, Coronation Street and the TV production company established by award-winning comedy writers Steve Coogan and Henry Normal, Baby Cow which is based at the same office block, The Greenhouse.

RFL Chief Executive and Rugby League World Cup 2013 Tournament Director Nigel Wood said he was delighted to have agreed the move to the prestigious £650m Peel Group development at Salford Quays.

“MediaCityUK will provide a stimulating environment for our staff to deliver a Rugby League World Cup that will be one of the crowning jewels of the UK’s Golden Decade of Sport,” said Wood.

“We are committed to making Rugby League World Cup 2013 the best tournament in the sport’s history and I am confident that our move to MediaCityUK will help us achieve that objective.

“Our planning for the tournament is at an advanced stage and we were delighted to announce the venues for the group stages and quarter-finals from MediaCityUK last month.

“Our presence at Salford Quays will allow the dedicated Rugby League World Cup 2013 team to maximise the momentum we have built by making a series of exciting announcements over the coming months.”

Stephen Wild, managing director of MediaCityUK, said: “It is an exciting time for the RFL and we are thrilled they’ve chosen to open an office here at MediaCityUK.

“They bring a new and different offer to the wide variety of businesses making their home in The Greenhouse. We believe it’s an ideal location for the RFL to market Rugby League World Cup 2013 to a wide audience.”

The 14-nation tournament will be staged in four countries with matches played across an exciting spectrum of venues in England, Wales, Ireland and France.

The competition's structure will consist of two groups of four and two groups of three. England are drawn alongside arch rivals Australia, Fiji and Ireland in Group A;  World Cup holders New Zealand will face Pacific Island rivals Papua New Guinea, Samoa and France in Group B. Scotland will face Tonga and Italy in Group C and joint hosts Wales have been drawn against the Cook Islands and the USA in Group D.

Upwards of half a million people are expected to watch the 28 matches live over a six-week period in the autumn of 2013 with a further 20 million viewers from 120 countries tuning in around the world.

The identity of the venues which will host the opening ceremony, semi-finals and final will be announced in the spring of 2012.

MediaCityUK is a long-term development managed by The Peel Group, one of the leading infrastructure, real estate and investment enterprises in the UK. Our diverse network of businesses ranges from ports to airports; land to leisure; media to hotels; wind farms to shopping centres, and a portfolio of investments in major public companies.