The Betfred Championship Summer Bash has a new home! The gathering of Championship clubs is back for the first time in three years in 2022 - and heading for Headingley Stadium in Leeds.
The iconic home of Leeds Rhinos and numerous great Rugby League occasions has been selected to host the sixth gathering of all 14 Championship clubs on the weekend of July 30-31. It will be the first time the Summer Bash has been played anywhere other than Blackpool’s Bloomfield Road since the festival was introduced in 2015, as an equivalent to Super League’s Magic Weekend.
A full round of seven fixtures will be played across the weekend – a 27th round for the 2022 Betfred Championship season, in addition to the home and away programme, which adds an intriguing extra element to the battle for places in the top six Play-Offs which will determine promotion to the 2023 Betfred Super League.
The fixtures have been selected to build on rivalries – local, old or new – and to maximise the appeal of the weekend for supporters of the 14 clubs and for Rugby League neutrals, as a celebration of the quality of competition outside the Betfred Super League.
All three Cumbrian clubs will play in the Championship this season and they will all be involved on the Sunday (July 31) – with Barrow Raiders facing Widnes Vikings, before Whitehaven and Workington Town take their unique rivalry to Headingley for the first time.
The Sunday programme concludes with a meeting of two of the Championship’s most progressive clubs, as York City Knights face Newcastle Thunder.
West Yorkshire teams and supporters will be in a majority on Saturday July 30, although the action kicks off with Sheffield Eagles taking on London Broncos – the 1998 Challenge Cup winners against the 1999 runners-up.
Batley Bulldogs vs Dewsbury Rams will maintain the one constant of the Summer Bash since it was introduced in 2015, as they meet for the sixth time with Dewsbury having won three of the previous five derbies at Bloomfield Road.
Next on a Super Saturday, Bradford Bulls will face Halifax Panthers, on a ground where both sets of supporters have been regular visitors for fixtures against Leeds – although not for a few years.
The action ends with a heavyweight clash between Brian McDermott’s Featherstone Rovers, who have been beaten in each of the last two Championship Grand Finals, and Adrian Lam’s Leigh Centurions, aiming to bounce straight back following relegation from the Betfred Super League.
Mark Foster, the RFL’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “It’s an exciting line-up of fixtures which will showcase the quality of the teams and players in the Betfred Championship, and Headingley Stadium will be a fitting stage.
“It’s a venue with so much Rugby League history, which will be familiar to supporters of all 14 clubs – but this may be a first opportunity for many to experience the superb redevelopments of recent years.”
The 2022 Betfred Championship kicks off next Sunday (January 30), with six fixtures including Leigh Centurions hosting Whitehaven, and London Broncos playing Widnes Vikings in their first game at the Cherry Red Records Stadium, the home of AFC Wimbledon which will be their new base this season.
Betfred Championship Summer Bash 2022 – Headingley Stadium, July 30-31
Saturday July 30
London Broncos vs Sheffield Eagles
Batley Bulldogs vs Dewsbury Rams
Bradford Bulls vs Halifax Panthers
Featherstone Rovers vs Leigh Centurions
Sunday July 31
Barrow Raiders vs Widnes Vikings
Whitehaven vs Workington Town
Newcastle Thunder vs York City Knights
