The 2025 Challenge Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2025 Betfred Challenge Cup, was the 124th staging 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 was being revised and there would now only be seven rounds of competition, down from the nine rounds used in recent seasons. The changes saw 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. The change followed criticism that the previous format favoured Super League clubs, and reducing the opportunities for smaller clubs to stage a tie against a big club.
The competition started in January 2025, and concluded with the final on 7 June at Wembley Stadium.
Toulouse Olympique declined to take part, as in previous years.
Format and dates + Challenge Cup competition format Round Date Clubs involved this round Winners from previous round New entries this round Leagues entering at this round Round 1 11–12 January 34 34 34 UK based community teams Round 2 25–26 January 40 17 23 All teams (except Toulouse) from the Championship (12) and League One (11) Round 3 8–9 February 32 20 12 All 12 teams from the Super League Round 4 15–16 March 16 16 colspan=2 rowspan=4 Quarter-finals 5–6 April 8 8 Semi-finals 10–11 May 4 4 Final 7 June 2 2
The 34 clubs in the first round comprise: the three armed services clubs 15 from the National Conference League (NCL) one each from the Scottish, Welsh and Irish leagues GB Police 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.
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. 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.
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.
+ Number of teams per tier remaining in competition at start of round 1 Super League Championship League One Non-League Total
+ Challenge Cup round 1 fixturesHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeAttendance Waterhead Warriors 12–8 Leigh Miners Rangers 18 January 2025, 12:30 Peach Road A. Williams rowspan=17 Rochdale Mayfield 64–16 Telford Raiders 18 January 2025, 13:30 Keswick Street J. Pemberton British Army 22–16 RAF 18 January 2025, 14:00 Aldershot Military Stadium C. Hughes Crosfields 52–0 Maryport 18 January 2025, 14:00 Hood Lane Recreation Ground L. O'brien Dewsbury Moor 20–12 Haresfinch 18 January 2025, 14:00 Dewsbury Moor Sports Club J. Stearne Lock Lane 50–10 Doncaster Toll Bar 18 January 2025, 14:30 Lock Lane Sports Centre L. Grundy Mirfield 20–26 Royal Navy 18 January 2025, 14:00 Slipper Lane S. Quarmby Stanley Rangers 20–34 Hunslet ARLFC 18 January 2025, 14:00 Lee Moor Road O. Taylor West Bowling 48–16 Cutsyke Raiders 18 January 2025, 14:00 Horsfall Stadium West Hull 90–0 Edinburgh Eagles 18 January 2025, 14:00 Johnny Whiteley Park O. Salmon Ince Rose Bridge 56–12 Longhorns 18 January 2025, 14:30 Pinfold Street R. Schofield Thatto Heath Crusaders 28–24 Orrell St James 19 January 2025, 14:00 Close St A. Billington Hammersmith Hills Hoists 4–18 Siddal 11 January 2025, 17:00 Chiswick Rugby Football Club S. Jenkinson Aberavon Fighting Irish 16–32 Blackbrook 12 January 2025, 13:30 Vivian Park K. Young GB Police 4–52 York Acorn 19 January 2025, 13:30 Portico Vine ARLFC T. Jones Eastern Rhinos 4–66 Wests Warriors 12 January 2025, 14:30 Northern Gateway Sports Park M. McKelvey London Chargers 12–28 Oulton Raiders 18 January 2025, 14:30 Streatham-Croydon RFC R. Apsee Source:
Second round + Number of teams per tier remaining in competition at start of round 2 Super League Championship League One Non-League Total + Challenge Cup round 2 fixturesHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeAttendance London Broncos 10–17 Goole Vikings 25 January 2025, 12:30 Priory Lane R. Cox Dewsbury Moor 6–50 Dewsbury Rams 25 January 2025, 14:00 Mount Pleasant A. Belafonte 1,252 Hunslet ARLFC 18–24 West Hull 25 January 2025, 14:00 The Oval, Leeds S. Jenkinson Lock Lane 10–50 Hunslet 25 January 2025, 14:00 Lock Lane Sports Centre C. Hughes Featherstone Rovers 88–10 Waterhead Warriors 25 January 2025, 14:00 Post Office Road A. Billington Wests Warriors 36–18 British Army 25 January 2025, 14:00 Twyford Avenue Sports Ground M. McKelvey York Acorn 22–2 Oulton Raiders 25 January 2025, 14:00 Thanet Road J. Hughes Whitehaven 24–12 Swinton Lions 25 January 2025, 15:00 Recreation Ground S. Mikalauskas 908 Oldham 60–10 Rochdale Mayfield 26 January 2025, 12:30 Boundary Park W. Turley 1,032 Cornwall 0–52 North Wales Crusaders 26 January 2025, 13:00 The Memorial Ground A. Williams Royal Navy 0–56 Workington Town 26 January 2025, 13:00 United Services Recreation Ground J. Pemberton Blackbrook 12–34 Ince Rose Bridge 26 January 2025, 14:00 Blackbrook Rugby & Recreation Club M. Clayton Midlands Hurricanes 46–0 Siddal 26 January 2025, 14:00 Alexander Stadium K. Moore Barrow Raiders 86–6 Crosfields 26 January 2025, 15:00 Craven Park S. Houghton 849 Bradford Bulls 30–4 Doncaster 26 January 2025, 15:00 Odsal Stadium C. Worsley Halifax Panthers 48–6 Thatto Heath Crusaders 26 January 2025, 15:00 The Shay D. Arnold 743 Newcastle Thunder 0–54 Batley Bulldogs 26 January 2025, 15:00 Crow Trees Ground T. Jones Rochdale Hornets 16–34 Widnes Vikings 26 January 2025, 15:00 Spotland M. Lynn 866 Sheffield Eagles 62–0 West Bowling 26 January 2025, 15:00 Olympic Legacy Park A. Sweet 518 Keighley Cougars 12–72 York Knights 2 February 2025, 15:00 Cougar Park M. Lynn Source:
Third round 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.
Ahead of round 3, the integrity of the competition came into question, with the "Super League teams guaranteed to be played away from home" being reversed or moved to neutral venues for every tie between Super League and amateur clubs. This was done on the basis of amateur grounds not meeting the standards for matches involving professional clubs. The RFL was also criticised for failing for foresee this situation arising when the new format was announced.
+ Number of teams per tier remaining in competition at start of round 3 Super League Championship League One Non-League Total
+ Challenge Cup round 3 fixturesHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeAttendance Sheffield Eagles 12–48 Wigan Warriors 7 February 2025, 19:30 Olympic Legacy Park J. Smith 1,244 Workington Town 0–60 Leigh Leopards 7 February 2025, 19:30 Derwent Park L. Rush 3,033 York Knights 2–44 Hull KR 7 February 2025, 20:00 York Community Stadium C. Kendall 5,369 Halifax Panthers 0–14 Catalans Dragons 8 February 2025, 12:00 The Shay M. Griffiths 806 Wests Warriors 0–92 Leeds Rhinos 8 February 2025, 12:00 Headingley M. Lynn 1,310 West Hull 0–38 St Helens 8 February 2025, 14:00 Craven Park S. Mikalauskas 5,500 (est) York Acorn 6–52 Hull FC 8 February 2025, 14:00 Post Office Road W. Turley Goole Vikings 0–82 Wakefield Trinity 8 February 2025, 15:00 Belle Vue C. Worsley 2,032 Whitehaven 4–44 Warrington Wolves 8 February 2025, 15:00 Recreation Ground A. Moore 3,980 Bradford Bulls 18–16 Castleford Tigers 9 February 2025, 13:00 Odsal Stadium L. Moore 2,946 Batley Bulldogs 26–4 Dewsbury Rams 9 February 2025, 14:00 Mount Pleasant R. Cox Featherstone Rovers 68–0 Ince Rose Bridge 9 February 2025, 14:00 Post Office Road A. Sweet Midlands Hurricanes 10–46 Salford Red Devils 9 February 2025, 14:00 Alexander Stadium A. Belafonte 985 North Wales Crusaders 20–26 Widnes Vikings 9 February 2025, 14:30 Eirias Stadium D. Arnold Hunslet 6–34 Huddersfield Giants 9 February 2025, 15:00 South Leeds Stadium T. Grant 831 Oldham 42–4 Barrow Raiders 9 February 2025, 15:00 Boundary Park K. Moore 1,064 Source:
Fourth round The draw for the fourth round took place on Saturday 15 February 2025, live on BBC Two, during half-time of the Super League game between St Helens and Salford Red Devils, on the opening weekend of the 2025 Super League season.
+ Number of teams per tier remaining in competition at start of round 4 Super League Championship League One Non-League Total
+ Challenge Cup round 4 fixturesHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeAttendance Hull KR 40–0 Oldham 14 March 2025, 20:00 Craven Park T. Grant Salford Red Devils 26–16 Bradford Bulls 14 March 2025, 20:00 Salford Community Stadium J. Smith 3,066 St Helens 22–14 Leeds Rhinos 14 March 2025, 20:00 Totally Wicked Stadium L. Moore 7,531 Catalans Dragons 46–18 Featherstone Rovers 15 March 2025, 17:00 Stade Gilbert Brutus M. Griffiths Widnes Vikings 16–26 Warrington Wolves 15 March 2025, 17:00 Halton Stadium J. Vella 7,011 Wigan Warriors 22–26 Hull FC 15 March 2025, 17:45 Brick Community Stadium C. Kendall 9,287 Huddersfield Giants 12–22 Wakefield Trinity 16 March 2025, 15:00 John Smiths Stadium A. Moore 3,195 Leigh Leopards 62–4 Batley Bulldogs 16 March 2025, 15:00 Leigh Sports Village L. Rush 4,717Source:
Quarter-finals The draw for the quarter-finals took place on Monday 17 March 2025, live on BBC Radio 5 Live sport.
The attendance of 20,226 at the Hull Derby, was the highest attendance at a cup match outside a final since the 1989 quarter final between Leeds and Widnes. Despite increased attendances at games, the televised games viewing figures were less than hoped for due to competition with the Grand National on Saturday.
+ Number of teams per tier remaining in competition at start of Quarter finals Super League Championship League One Non-League Total
+ Challenge Cup Quarter Final fixturesHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeAttendance Catalans Dragons 20–12 Salford Red Devils 4 April 2025, 19:00 Stade Gilbert Brutus A. Moore Wakefield Trinity 12–20 Leigh Leopards 4 April 2025, 20:00 Belle Vue J. Smith 6,125 Hull FC 16–32 Hull KR 5 April 2025, 14:30 MKM Stadium C. Kendall 20,226 Warrington Wolves 20–12 St Helens 6 April 2025, 14:30 Halliwell Jones Stadium L. Moore 10,114Source:
Semi-finals The draw for the semi-finals took place on Sunday 6 April 2025, during half time between Warrington Wolves and St Helens live on BBC Two.
Matches were played as part of a double header, alongside the women's semi finals. Saturday's semi-final received a peak television audience of 528,000 accounting for 9.6% of the viewer share, while Sunday's game received 396,000 accounting for 4.5%.https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/challenge-cup-semi-final-posts-huge-viewing-numbers-in-bbc-boost
+ Number of teams per tier remaining in competition at start of semi finals Super League Championship League One Non-League Total
+ Challenge Cup Semi Final fixturesHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeAttendance Hull KR 36–12 Catalans Dragons 10 May 2025, 14:30 York Community Stadium C. Kendall 8,402 Warrington Wolves 21–14 Leigh Leopards 11 May 2025, 16:15 Totally Wicked Stadium L. Moore 11,722Source:
Final
The final took place on Saturday 7 June 2025, as part of finals day, alongside the Women's final and the final of the 1895 Cup.