Elite English female rugby players taking part in the 15-a-side game will be handed professional contracts for the first time as the Rugby Football Union (RFU) aims for more World Cup success.

From the 2016/17 season, 48 players will be signed on professional terms to signify the governing body’s “commitment to the professionalisation of women’s rugby” and to provide a platform for the England women’s team to retain the World Cup after its triumph in 2014.

Following the Rio OIympic Games in August, 16 players will be awarded full-time contracts with a focus on the 15-a-side game, while a further 16 will be handed part-time, three-day-a-week contracts with a sevens focus. An additional 16 contracts will be awarded on a short-term basis.

Full-time contracts will come into effect from September with training based at Bisham Abbey. It is intended that the majority of the 15s-focused players will be released to play club rugby over the season.

The move follows the decision to make 20 sevens player professional in October 2014, and RFU head of women’s performance Nicky Ponsford said it was a “really exciting time for women’s rugby in England”.

“We will have more contracted players than ever before to give us the best possible chance of retaining the World Cup in Ireland next August,” she added. “The girls have proven that they are among the best in the world, delivering consistent results across both the sevens and 15s games already this year, and we want to focus on building on that.”

RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie said: “More women and girls in this country are playing rugby than ever before and England Women are important role models to encourage more people to try our sport.”