The RFL are delighted to welcome a two-year extension to Betfred’s partnership with the Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair Challenge Cups – which will include a historic Final at the superb Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in May 2022, before a return to Wembley Stadium in 2023.
The 2022 Betfred Challenge Cup Final will be played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, May 28 – the 121st Challenge Cup Final, marking the 125th anniversary of the first in 1897, and the first to be played in May since St Helens beat Wigan in Cardiff in 2004.
It will be the first Rugby League match at the state-of-the-art, 62,850-capacity stadium – the third largest football stadium in England, which was opened in April 2019 – after the cancellation because of the Covid-19 pandemic of a Test that was scheduled for the 2020 Ashes Series between England and Australia.
The Betfred Challenge Cup Final will then return to Wembley Stadium in 2023. That will be the 80th Challenge Cup Final at Wembley since the bold decision to take the game’s showpiece occasion to the capital for the first time in 1929.
Betfred Challenge Cup Final tickets for 2022 are now on sale at eticketing.co.uk/rugbyleague and fans can take advantage of an Early Bird offer of £5 off every ticket, with prices starting from only £25 for Adults and £10 Under 16s.
Dates and venues for the 2022 Betfred Women’s and Wheelchair Challenge Cup Finals will be confirmed later this year.
Ralph Rimmer, the RFL Chief Executive said, “It’s fantastic news for the sport to be able to confirm Betfred as title partners for the Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair Challenge Cups for two more years – and to take our traditional showpiece to a magnificent new venue at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2022 before we return to Wembley in 2023.
“We were thrilled when Betfred extended their significant involvement in Rugby League to include the Challenge Cups in 2021. It came at a time of considerable uncertainty for all sport and has been crucial in allowing us to enjoy three memorable Betfred Challenge Cup campaigns, with all they mean to Rugby League communities – with St Helens victorious both in the Women’s competition in June and again at Wembley last month when they beat Castleford in a compelling final and a superb occasion.
“We still have the first Betfred Wheelchair Challenge Cup to look forward to this weekend, and now we know that Fred and his team will continue to elevate our Challenge Cups, to celebrate their great history and the sport of Rugby League.
“We have an excellent partnership with Wembley which has been invaluable as we have worked together through the pandemic to stage the last two Finals in October and July.
“For 2022 we were unable to find a space in the schedule that worked for both the RFL’s and BBC’s desire to play the Final earlier in the year. We are sure that Rugby League supporters and players will be excited by the prospect of experiencing the Betfred Challenge Cup Final at a new venue in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2022, with a return to the event’s spiritual home at Wembley in 2023.
“At this stage, we are planning for Community clubs to return to the early rounds of the Men’s competition, which was not possible in 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. That will restore a dimension of the competition which we missed this year, and I know Betfred are relishing that prospect, as well as the Finals at Tottenham and Wembley.”
“Following on from this year’s terrific final I am delighted to be extending our Challenge Cup sponsorship for a further two years. We’re excited about having 2022 Final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before returning to Wembley in 2023 – and I’m especially pleased that we’re again including the Women’s and Wheelchair competitions in our unique sponsorship, and that the Community clubs and teams from all around the country will hopefully be back in the Challenge Cup in 2022.”
Said Fred Done, the founder and owner of Betfred.
Daniel Levy, Chairman, of Tottenham Hotspur said, “We are delighted to bring yet another major sporting event to our stadium. The Challenge Cup Final is a game that is steeped in history and we are proud to now be a part of that, while further establishing our stadium as a leading sports and entertainment destination in London.”
