The 2024 Challenge Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2024 Betfred Challenge Cup, is the 123rd edition of the

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

, the main rugby league knockout cup tournament in British rugby league, run by the Rugby Football League (RFL). It began over the weekend of 13–14 January 2024, and ended with the final, at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 8 June. The cup was won by Wigan Warriors who beat Warrington Wolves 18–8 before a 64,000 crowd at Wembley. Wigan's

Bevan French Bevan French (born 4 January 1996) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er and for the Wigan Warriors in the Super League. He has played for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL and the Indigenous All Stars side. ...

was awarded the Lance Todd Trophy.

Leigh Leopards The Leigh Leopards are a professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England, who compete in the Betfred Super League. The club was founded in 1878, and is one of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Ru ...

were the defending champions, having won the 2023 Final, defeating Hull Kingston Rovers 17–16 in

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

. They were eliminated in the quarter finals, losing 16–24 to Hull KR.

Background

The competition started on 13 January, and concluded with the final on 8 June. The Championship and League One clubs joined the tournament in round 3. Rounds 4 and 5 reduced the lower league clubs to four before the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

clubs enter in round 6. Toulouse Olympique of the Championship are not full members of the RFL and although invited to take part have declined as in previous years.

Format and dates

First round

The draw for the first round was made by

Josh Charnley Joshua Charnley (born 26 June 1991) is an English international professional rugby league footballer who plays on the for the Leigh Leopards in the Super League. He previously played for the Warrington Wolves and Wigan Warriors, with whom he w ...

on 5 December 2023. Ties were played over the weekend of 13 and 14 January 2024.

Second round

Third round

The draws for the third and fourth rounds were made live on the BBC Sport website on 29 January. The draw took place at Widnes Vikings'

DCBL Stadium The DCBL Stadium (historically known as Lowerhouse Lane and Naughton Park) is a rugby league stadium in Widnes, Cheshire, England. It is the home of Rugby League side Widnes Vikings of the Betfred Championship, and American football side Halt ...

. Hosted by broadcaster

Tanya Arnold Tanya Arnold (born 3 January 1977) is a British sports journalist and former television presenter for BBC Look North. She was a presenter of the Rugby League World Cup 2022. In 2012 she joined the Super League Show, as one of Britain's first fema ...

, the draw was made by brothers

Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documenta ...

and Steve O'Neill, both of whom played for Widnes in the club's 1983–84 Challenge Cup final victory.

Fourth round

Fifth round

The fifth round draw was conducted on

BBC Radio Leeds BBC Radio Leeds is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of West Yorkshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at St Peter's Square in Leeds. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audienc ...

on 25 February.

Sixth round

The sixth round draw was made on 11 March on '' BBC Sportsday''. The draw was conducted by Iestyn Harris. The ties were played over the weekend of 22–24 March.

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was made on 25 March. The ties will be played 12–14 April.

Semi-finals

The draw for the semi-finals was made on 14 April, during half time in the match between St Helens and Warrington. The ties were played on 18 and 19 May as part of a double header, alongside the women's semi finals.

Final

The tie was played on 8 June as part of a triple header, alongside the women's final, and the 1895 Cup final. Following the death of

Rob Burrow Robert Geoffrey Burrow (born 26 September 1982) is an English former professional rugby league player. An England and Great Britain representative, he spent his entire 16-year professional career with Leeds Rhinos in the Super League, making o ...

on 2 June, the RFL announced that kick-off for the final would be put back from 3pm to 3:07pm to honour Rob and the number seven shirt he wore. Rob's death was also commemorated with a minute's silence before kick-off and with a minute's applause during the seventh minute of the game.

Broadcast matches

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Challenge Cup 2024 in English rugby league 2024 in Welsh rugby league 2024 in French rugby league 2024 in Scottish sport

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***''Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney's fi ...

Current rugby league seasons