2025 CHALLENGE CUP - FIRST AND SECOND ROUND DRAW DETAILS

INITIAL DETAILS RELEASED FOR 2025 CHALLENGE CUP

With the 2024 season behind us and the 2025 pre-season and league fixture release on the horizon, we wanted to provide fans with an update on next year’s Betfred Challenge Cup.

On 2 December 2024, the First and Second Round draws will take place at the home of League One’s newest club Goole Vikings, with the town of Goole making its first appearance in Rugby League’s most prestigious knockout competition for almost 90 years.

The First Round - the ties of which will be played during the weekend of 11/12 January - will involve 34 clubs and teams from the community game, including a debut appearance for the 2024 Midlands Premier League Champions and Harry Jepson Trophy winners Telford Raiders. The Raiders could face any one of 15 National Conference League clubs, as well as a number of regional amateur league clubs that include Hammersmith Hill Hoists and Wests Warriors (who both had successful runs in the 2024 competition).

The 17 winners of those ties will move on to the Second Round, where they will be joined by the Midlands Hurricanes and the 10 other League One clubs, as well as the 12 English Championship clubs. Those ties will be played during the weekend of the 25/26 January.

Should the Canes win their tie, they face the mouth-watering prospect of a guaranteed home tie if drawn against one of the 12 Super League clubs that will enter the Third Round in 2025. This would not be the first time the Canes have faced Super League opposition in the Challenge Cup, having travelled to Widnes in the 5th Round in 2018, but it would be the first time the club has hosted Super League opposition in a competitive fixture.

To make it to the big dance at Wembley on Saturday 7 June, the winners of the Third Round would have to win another three rounds (4th Round/Round of 16, 5th Round/Quarter-Finals and 6th Round/Semi-Finals).

Who would you like to see the Canes face in the Second Round? And can we #DARETODREAM of a historic first appearance at Wembley?