Championship boosted as 1895 Cup return confirmed with draw details and final date revealed

The 19 Championship clubs have received a boost with confirmation that the 1895 Cup will return in 2026 with the draw details revealed.

There was doubt over the future of the competition following the move to an expanded second tier that comprised the amalgamation of the Championship and League One.

Further doubt has been cast given the fact that Championship clubs Featherstone Rovers and Halifax Panthers have seen their RFL membership revoked, with neither team to take any further part in the 2026 season.

That’s created issues for the RFL regarding fixtures but they’ve found room to keep the 1895 Cup in the schedule with a format devised for the 19 remaining Championship teams.

A preliminary round will take place on the weekend of March 14th and 15th, the same weekend that the Challenge Cup round of 16 games are played. Three games will be played in the preliminary round, which serves to reduce the number of teams from 19 to 16, at which point a straight-forward knockout competition resumes.

The final, at a venue to be confirmed, will be played on Monday, August 31st with semi-finals six weeks earlier in June.

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How will the 1895 Cup work in 2026?

The 16 Championship teams who have been knocked out of the Challenge Cup are numbered 1 through 16 and six of those sides will be drawn to face each other in a three-game preliminary round.

The winners of those matches will then join the draw for the first round alongside the ten remaining numbers 1 through 16, and numbers 17, 18, and 19, which have been assigned to the clubs who remain in the Challenge Cup – Goole Vikings, Keighley Cougars and Oldham RLFC.

Those 16 teams will then be drawn for the first round, which will take place on the weekend of April 18th and 19th with quarter-finals a month later on the 16th and 17th of May, before semi-finals and a final.

The draw for the preliminary and first round will be made on BBC Radio Leeds from 5:40 pm this Sunday (15th February), with former 1895 Cup winner Luke Gale helping to conduct the draw.

Ball numbers and dates can be found below with the final to be played on a Bank Holiday Monday to help encourage fans to attend the game.

1. Barrow Raiders

2. Batley Bulldogs

3. Dewsbury Rams

4. Doncaster RLFC

5. Hunslet RLFC

6. London Broncos

7. Midlands Hurricanes

8. Newcastle Thunder

9. North Wales Crusaders

10. Rochdale Hornets

11. Salford RLFC

12. Sheffield Eagles

13. Swinton Lions

14. Whitehaven RLFC

15. Widnes Vikings

16. Workington Town

Once the draw for the preliminary round is confirmed, balls 17, 18 and 19 will be added.

17. Goole Vikings

18. Keighley Cougars

19. Oldham RLFC

Key dates for the 1895 Cup

Preliminary Round – 14/15 March

First Round – 18/19 April

Quarter Finals – 16/17 May

Semi Finals – 13/14 June

Final – 31 August, venue TBC