The Premier League club Tottenham Hostpur (UK) has announced that the Betfred Challenge Cup Final – English Rugby League’s showpiece game – will be hosted at their home venue – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – on May 28th, 2022.
The ‘Tottenham Hotspur’ stated that this will be the 121st Challenge Cup Final, marking the 125th anniversary of the first Final in 1897 – the game has traditionally been played at the 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium in London since 1929 and has always been considered the majestic venue’s preserve.
The Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham or Spurs, is an English professional football club based in Tottenham, London, which competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football.
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the home of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in North London, replacing the club’s previous stadium, White Hart Lane. With a seating capacity of 62,850, it is the third-largest football stadium in England and the largest club stadium in London (UK).
The 2021 Challenge Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2021 Betfred Challenge Cup, will be the 120th edition of the Challenge Cup, the main rugby league knockout tournament in British rugby league run by the Rugby Football League (RFL). This year’s competition will be contested only between the professional clubs.
Leeds (UK)-based the Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organization. This has since been supplanted by Super League, the Championship and League 1.
Tickets are now on sale from the Rugby Football League at eticketing.co.uk/rugbyleague and fans can take advantage of an Early Bird offer of £5 off every ticket, with prices starting from £25 for Adults and £10 for Under 16s.
The ‘Tottenham Hotspur’ further stated that it will be the first Rugby League match ever played at their home stadium after the cancellation of an Ashes series test between England and Australia, scheduled to take place last November, due to the COVID-19 menace the Delta variant of which is pounding the United Kingdom.
Ralph Rimmer, Chief Executive, Rugby Football League, put in, “We are sure that Rugby League supporters and players will be excited by the prospect of experiencing the Betfred Challenge Cup Final at a new venue in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2022. There was real excitement when we announced the stadium as a venue for an Ashes Test in 2020, and after the disappointment of losing that game as a result of the pandemic, we’re delighted to have this opportunity to recapture that excitement with the sport’s traditional showpiece event.”
Added Rimmer, “We also hope that Spurs fans will join us to see a different sport played at their fabulous ground – Rugby League is a fast, tough and spectacular sport, and the Challenge Cup Final is famous for its family-friendly atmosphere at Wembley, which we’re looking forward to bringing to a new stadium in London.”
Daniel Levy, Chairman, Tottenham Hotspur, enthused, “We are delighted to bring yet another major sporting event to our stadium. The Challenge Cup Final is a game that is steeped in history and we are proud to now be a part of that, while further establishing our stadium as a leading sports and entertainment destination in London.”
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is not only the largest football club stadium in London, it is a multipurpose venue capable of hosting a range of events, 365 days a year – providing a boost of circa £300m each year to the local economy.
Ahead of the Challenge Cup Final, the Spurs’ home will play host to the British professional boxer Anthony Joshua’s next World Heavyweight Championship fight on September 25th followed by two back-to-back National Football League (NFL) London Games in October this year, alongside Tottenham Hotspur matches.
The Final of the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup – a rugby league football competition for clubs in the United Kingdom – the knockout competition for non-Super League clubs which was introduced in 2019, will also be staged as part of the Challenge Cup Final day.
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