Rugby League Mar 08, 2026

Super League: Challenge Cup could move from traditional Wembley home after club-led strategic review recommendations

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
Super League: Challenge Cup could move from traditional Wembley home after club-led strategic review recommendations

The Challenge Cup final could move away from Wembley after a club-led strategic review recommended the Rugby Football League to "consider a new venue for the final".

Attendances at Wembley have not topped 65,000 since 2017, prompting the review to suggest a change from the London venue, where the tournament final has been held for all but one year since 1929.

The suggestion was part of a 144-point list made by the club-led strategic group, with their findings to be reviewed by stakeholders in the coming weeks.

Other stages of the Challenge Cup were also among the group's targets for change, suggesting that the round of 16 should be held at a neutral venue in a Magic Weekend style event to "put the magic back into the competition".

The group also proposed a 'Community Shield' style fixture between the winners of the Grand Final and the Challenge Cup, while recommending that Super League should remain a 14-team competition for now, with plans to expand to 16 teams in the future when financial and sustained player growth factors allow. An eight-team play-off series has been recommended.

"This should only happen when the sport can financially and operationally sustain such growth - including player supply - and where it will not negatively affect the current financial distribution to clubs," the review said.

Watch every match of the 2026 Betfred Super League season, including Magic Weekend, the play-offs and Grand Final, live on Your Site. Also .

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