Challenge Cup: Dates and teams

The Challenge Cup is the world's oldest cup competition in either code of rugby and the annual event is organised by the Rugby Football League.

The first ever Challenge Cup was held in 1896 and currently sees 69 teams from throughout the pyramid enter, allowing amateur teams in regional leagues to compete against professional teams should they advance far enough.

Every year, the Challenge Cup runs alongside Super League, giving British rugby league teams the chance to win further silverware each year.

Challenge Cup dates

• Round 1 - 11th-12th January
• Round 2 - 25th-26th January
• Round 3 - 8th-9th February
• Round 4 - 15th-16th March
• Quarter-finals - 5th-6th April
• Semi-finals - 10th-11th May
• Final - 8th June

The modern Challenge Cup has six rounds prior to the final, down from the previous eight, with teams entering at different stages depending on their seeding.

The first round gets underway in January, with 34 clubs competing for a place in the second round. A further 23 teams are added to round two at the end of January, while the 12 Super League teams are named in the third-round draw in February.

From there, no more teams are added, with the competition a straight knockout competition, culminating in June's final.

The Challenge Cup final previously took place in August, but as part of IMG's takeover of rugby league in the UK, the showpiece was moved to June from 2024.

Challenge Cup teams

The Challenge Cup is open to teams right the way down to the ninth tier of the British rugby league system, with all Championship and League 1 teams (with the exception of Toulouse), entering in the second round.

Super League clubs then enter in the third round.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.