CHALLENGE CUP Finals Day will return to Wembley Stadium in 2025 on Saturday, June 7 with tickets already having gone on sale from 7pm on Sunday evening as RL Commercial looks to maintain the momentum of steadily increasing attendances over the four years since the Covid pandemic – with Saturday’s gate of 64,845 the best since 2017.
Rhodri Jones, the managing director of RL Commercial, said: “After a traumatic week following the loss of Rob Burrow last Sunday, Rugby League came together to celebrate his life in fitting fashion on our Finals Day at Wembley Stadium.
“Some of the images were unforgettable, whether the tributes laid by supporters of many different clubs at the Rugby League statue, or the flags unfurled over the fans at each end during Abide with Me – and the spontaneous applause which preceded the minute’s silence in tribute to Rob before the Challenge Cup Final, and the scheduled applause on 7 minutes of each of the four Finals, provided spine-tingling moments which underlined the universal respect and admiration for Rob and his family.
“It was important for us that the minute’s applause was consistent across all four Finals, and one of the highlights of the day was to hear the relatively small number of people in the stadium for the inspiresport Champion Schools Final showing their appreciation at 10.07am.
“Congratulations to St Peter’s Catholic High School for their victory in that game, and also to Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf for reaching the Final – it was great to have a Welsh presence on the day, which continued with the great Billy Boston MBE leading out the Wigan Warriors team for the Betfred Challenge Cup Final two months before his 90th birthday.
“Congratulations also to Jodie Cunningham and her St Helens team for a remarkable fourth consecutive Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup, and to Leeds Rhinos for making them work so hard after such a harrowing week for their club.
“Wigan Warriors have extended their record number of Challenge Cup wins to 21 to mark the centenary of their first win in 1924, and have rightly been praised for the achievement of holding all four major trophies available.
“Last but not least, another highlight of the day was the support for Wakefield Trinity in the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup Final, setting a new record since the competition was introduced in 2019, and encapsulating why that decision was taken, to give clubs outside the Super League a second and more realistic chance to be part of the big day out at Wembley.
“The steady increase in attendances since 2021 has now delivered the best crowd for seven years, and we believe the reversion to a final earlier in the summer has played a part in that – so we are delighted to confirm that Challenge Cup Finals Day will be back at Wembley Stadium on the first Saturday in June in 2025.”
First published in League Express newspaper, Issue 3,434 (June 10, 2024)
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