Elland Road to host Challenge Cup triple-header
Elland Road has been chosen to stage the 2022 Betfred Challenge Cup semi-finals as well as the Women’s final on Saturday, May 7.
The home of Leeds United will become the third stadium to host the triple header. Bolton and Leigh staged the event in 2019 and 2021 respectively.
Elland Road will also be the venue for the draw for the first round of the Women’s Cup. It will be made by Leeds-born England international footballer Gemma Bonner next Tuesday.
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RFL chief on Challenge Cup triple header
Mark Foster, the RFL’s chief commercial officer, said: “The growing profile of Women’s and Girls’ Rugby League has been a huge success story for the game in recent years. Taking the 2022 Betfred Women’s Cup Final to Elland Road represents another significant step forward.
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“Elland Road is a Premier League football stadium with a strong history of staging big Rugby League occasions; including one famous men’s Cup Final replay between Hull FC and Widnes in 1982.
“Now the Betfred Challenge Cup triple-header will fall firmly into that category. The Women’s Challenge Cup Final is proving increasingly popular both with Rugby League supporters and with our broadcast partners and TV viewers; as we saw when the Women’s Final was shown live on BBC2 for the first time earlier this year.
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“We are confident that more supporters than ever will want to be at Elland Road to watch the Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup Final in 2022. It will be a fitting stage for the brilliant athletes who are driving the development of Women’s Rugby League.
“With Elland Road also staging a Men’s Semi Final in the Rugby League World Cup next autumn, there’s so much to look forward to in 2022.”
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