The draw for the opening two rounds of the 2021 Betfred Challenge Cup took place on Thursday evening.  Under new sponsors, the competition will start with the Championship 1 and Championship clubs as the sides start the shortened journey to Wembley and the Cup Final scheduled for the 17th July.

The Cup competition will kick off on the weekend of the 21st/22nd March with eight ties including three clubs from Championship 1 (Barrow, Keighley and West Wales) and the thirteen UK based Championship sides. The twelve Super League clubs will join in for round three which will be played over the weekend of the 11th April.

The draw was made by Jon Wilkin and the fixtures in full were drawn out as follows;

First Round - 21st/22nd March

1.       London Broncos v. Keighley Cougars

2.       Whitehaven v. Dewsbury Rams

3.       Oldham v. Barrow Raiders

4.       West Wales Raiders v. Widnes Vikings

5.       Swinton Lions v. Newcastle Thunder

6.       Halifax Panthers v. Batley Bulldogs

7.       Sheffield Eagles v. York City Knights

8.       Featherstone Rovers v. Bradford Bulls

Second Round – 28th/29th March

Winners of 5 v. Winners of 3

Winners of 8 v. Winners of 6

Winners of 1 v. Winners of 7

Winners of 4 v. Winners of 2