Twickenham will host the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup final, with Sunderland’s Stadium of Light chosen as the venue for the opening fixture.

World Rugby and Rugby Football Union made the announcement on Monday morning, after it had been confirmed in August which eight stadiums would be used for the tournament.

The Red Roses will open the World Cup at the 48,707-seater Stadium of Light on August 22 before the 16-team competition concludes at Twickenham on September 27.

Twickenham hosting the final opens up the opportunity for a new world-record crowd for a women’s international to be set after the stadium welcomed 58,498 spectators for England’s victory over France earlier this year.

“Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 will be a generational moment for rugby,” World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said.

“The biggest, most accessible and most widely-viewed, its unstoppable momentum will reach, engage and inspire new audiences in ways that rugby events have not done before.

“The selection of Sunderland for the opening match underscores that mission. We want this to be a sports event that everyone is talking about, that everyone wants to be a part of and one that inspires young people to be a part of.”