Instituted in 1896, the Challenge Cup keeps rugby league’s one fixed London date, its finals settled each year at Wembley Stadium.
The Challenge Cup, rugby league’s knockout competition since 1896, brings its finals day to Wembley Stadium on Saturday 5 June 2027 for the Betfred Challenge Cup Final.
The competition began in the season after the northern clubs split from rugby union, and its first edition ran across 1896 and 1897. Its final was first staged at Wembley in 1929. The stadium has been its London home ever since, home turf to none of the clubs that contest it.
Entry is open to every eligible club down to the fifth tier, with amateur sides qualifying through the early rounds. A works team and a full-time professional squad are in the same draw. Wigan Warriors have won it 22 times, more than any other club.
The women’s final and the men’s final have been played on the same afternoon since 2012. The wheelchair final, contested since 2015, completes the day, and around 70 clubs enter across the three competitions.
The crowd comes from the towns of the two finalists, not from the capital. “Abide with Me” has opened the occasion before kick-off for generations, on the one day in the year when rugby league’s heartland comes to London in numbers.