Likely Challenge Cup first and second round draw date revealed as competition adopts new format
The Challenge Cup will have a new format in 2025
The draws for the first and second rounds of the 2025 Challenge Cup are expected to take place on Monday, December 2.
As first announced back in June, the game’s oldest cup competition will take on a new format in 2025, with Super League clubs to enter three rounds earlier than they did in 2024.
Joining in Round 3, and guaranteed to be playing away from home in the third round, the 12 top-flight clubs will essentially join the competition at the last 32 as opposed to the last 16.
Super League clubs will now join the 20 winners of the ties in Round 2 – which could be a mixture of teams from the Championship, League 1 and the community game.
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Likely Challenge Cup first and second round draw date revealed as competition adopts new format
The date for the Challenge Cup first and second round draws hasn’t officially been rubber-stamped just yet, but League 1 outfit Keighley Cougars have revealed December 2 as the expected date.
As part of the cup’s new format, both rounds one and two will take place in January, before the start of the league season.
Round one will see 32 UK-based community teams, including ten from the National Conference League Premier Division, square off in 16 ties.
Come round two later in the month, the winners of those 16 ties will be joined in the competition by the UK-based teams from both the Championship and League 1.
From the second and third tiers, only French outfit Toulouse Olympique will not be taking part, as has been the case over the last few years.
In their press release on Wednesday afternoon, Keighley also revealed that the structure of the 1895 Cup is yet to be confirmed.
The Cougars state that the RFL are currently ‘looking at options’ for that competition, which had a group stage prior to the knockouts beginning in 2024.
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