The 2025 Challenge Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2025 Betfred Challenge Cup, is the 124th edition of the Challenge Cup, the main rugby league knockout cup tournament in British rugby league, run by the Rugby Football League (RFL).
Background
Following discussions in 2024, it was announced that the format will be revised and there will now only be seven rounds of competition, down from the nine rounds used in recent seasons. The changes will see the Championship and League One clubs entering in round 2 (round 3 in 2024), and the Super League clubs entering in round 3 (round 6 in 2024), with all 12 super league teams playing away in round 3.[1]
The change follows criticism that the previous format favoured Super League clubs, and reducing the opportunities for smaller clubs to stage a tie against a big club.[2]
The competition started in January 2025, and will conclude with the final on 7 June at Wembley Stadium.[3]
12 from other English regional leagues (outside the NCL)
First round
The draw for the first and second rounds of the competition were made on 2 December 2024.[6]
Wath Brow Hornets were originally drawn against West Bowling. On 6 January 2025 the Wath Brow club informed the RFL that they would concede the tie, citing "player safety" as the reason. The early rounds of the competition coincide with a period during which full contact training and playing is restricted for amateur teams that play during the summer by the RFL operational rules. Wath Brow considered that the risks to their players were too great to participate in the tie against West Bowling.[7] The RFL invited Cutsyke Raiders to replace Wath Brow. As Cutsyke play during the winter, the club is not affected by the no-contact period.[8]
A majority of the fixtures were postponed from the original weekend of 11/12 January due to bad weather but were rescheduled for the following weekend.[9]
The draw for the third round took place live on BBC Sport, on 14 January 2025. The draw was made by RFL vice president Danika Priim, and BetFred owner Fred Done.[13]
