The Championship play-off structure has been confirmed for the 2026 season, following the decision to merge the teams from the UK’s second and third tiers.
The regular season will comprise of 24 rounds, with teams playing 12 sides twice across the campaign, once at home and once away. Ten of those fixtures will be based on league positioning last season, with the other two opponents decided on geographical location to make for more local rivalries across the year.
Salford Red Devils and Featherstone Rovers have both been included in the draw, despite both club’s current financial worries. Salford have a meeting with HMRC later this week to determine their future, whilst Featherstone fans are also unsure if their team will still be functioning by the time round one comes around.
One key part of the scheduling that remained uncertain was the play-off structure, and how it would work with the increased number of teams.
Whilst the full details have yet to be finalised, the RFL have announced that the finals will consist of the top 10 teams in the league, and will take place over a four week period.
The RFL have confirmed to Serious About RL that the full structure will be announced in the new year at the Betfred Championship launch.
The final regular season round will take place on the last weekend of August, with the first week of the play-offs taking place the following week, the weekend of 5th/6th September.
The date for the Championship Grand Final is already in the calendar with that fixture being held on Sunday 4th October, one day are the Super League finale at Old Trafford.
Latest update on 1895 Cup as Championship fixtures released
As well as announcing the full season fixtures, the game’s governing body also issued an update on the future of the 1895 Cup.
The knockout competition, which is comprised of teams below Super League, will still take place in 2026, however the final will not be held at Wembley like in previous years.
The location of next year’s final is yet to be announced, but the RFL have confirmed that the competition will go ahead.
There will be three previous winners taking part next season, as inaugural champions Sheffield Eagles, as well as Featherstone and Halifax Panthers look to become the first side to win the competition twice.
The full fixtures for the 2026 Championship season can be found here.
Check out the latest episode of The Serious About Rugby League Show on our YouTube channel here.
👀 The fixtures for Round One of the @Betfred Championship!
💻 Head to Match Centre on the RFL website to see the full fixtures! pic.twitter.com/ruZLgZ1By9
— Rugby Football League (@TheRFL) December 2, 2025
