The Rugby League World Cup was set to pay £500,000 to make Australia and New Zealand's star players more comfortable during their two-week quarantine period when they returned home from the tournament.
The competition organisers had pledged the money to pay for a special quarantine centre at the Olympic Park in Sydney, which was due to be far less harsh than the hotel isolation members of the public go thougth.
It was included in a package of Covid measures that also comprised chartering 14 jumbo jets to transport the Aussie and Kiwi squads to and from England for the showpiece in October.
Reigning champions Australia (pictured) have won the competition eight times and NZ once
The investment in quarantine facilities would have guaranteed the rugby league players similar comforts to those provided to the country's Olympians, who are currently competing in Tokyo and also set to quarantine on their return.
The risk of Covid and the need to isolate on coming home was cited as the reason the the Australian Rugby League Commission and New Zealand Rugby League pulled out of the tournament last week.
That decision has plunged the World Cup into doubt. However the organisers are working hard to find replacement teams and consider their options, including the exciting possibility that Australia and New Zealand could be represented by their two indigenous sides.
Following the bombshell withdrawals, the Rugby Football League in England denounced the Aussies and Kiwis as 'cowardly, parochial and selfish', and the body is now highlighting the extraordinary lengths the tournament has gone to, to secure the safety of the players and staff.
The measures are detailed in a 75-page document, which was shared with both countries' governing bodies before they jumped ship.
The organisers are due to hold a meeting midweek to consider their options, with almost three months to go before the tournament actually begins. Meanwhile, Covid infection rates in the UK continue to fall sharply raising the possibility the country's third wave of infection has peaked.
It is widely believed that the decision to withdraw resulted from the concerns of Australia's National Rugby League, which wants to avoid disruption to the following domestic season.
The World Cup would impact clubs' pre-season schedules because returning player would require a break after the tournament and a fortnight in isolation.
'It is not about Covid, it's about lack of prestige that they put on the tournament or the lack of financial windfall for the NRL and clubs [will get] from it,' former rugby league star, James Graham told Sportsmail. 'That is what it comes down to.'
Graham played for St Helens in the Super League, but also Canterbury Bulldogs and the St George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League, and has played for the NRL All Stars down-under, so he is well-placed to judge the current situation
'I am just gutted for all of the people back home, who are putting on the event and the players over here, it seems they have not been consulted,' added Graham, who played as a prop forward and was capped 44 times by England and nine by Great Britain.
A recent survey of players conducted by the tournament organisers showed 75 per cent of players wanted the tournament to go ahead, despite the challenges posed by Covid. And the Rugby League Playing Association, said last week that the players had not
