The climax of the rugby league season in London is approaching with the biggest game in the Rugby League calendar, the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup Final, on Saturday 26th August at Wembley Stadium.
The Foundation is running a new event to celebrate the finals day, the London Rugby League Challenge Cup Festival. The festival will be held on the morning of the final at The Hive, Canons Park, the home of Barnet FC, after which players will travel down the road to take part in a pitch parade at Wembley Stadium. Players and coaches will go behind the scenes, experience the stadium from pitchside and walk in the footsteps of their rugby league heros, before taking their seats for the 2017 Challenge Cup Final.
The festival has garnered significant interest with 26 teams and around 250 players expected to take part at Under 7, Under 9 and Under 11. Foundation Managing Director, Dan Steel, said "We're really pleased with the level of interest generated in the festival with teams coming from all over the country to take part. This is the first year of the festival, but we're hoping to make it an annual event, and there are any more clubs that have expressed interest in taking part in the future."
The full line up of teams is as follows:
Under 7s
Golborne Parkside
Beverley Braves
Brixton Bulls
Medway Dragons
Garforth Tigers
Holderness Vikings
Under 9s
Eastern Rhinos
Newham Dockers
Medway Dragons
London Skolars
Emley Moor
Surrey Sharks
Southampton Spitfires
Brixton Bulls
Under 11s
Elland (Halifax)
Brentwood Eels
Surrey Sharks
Harpenden Roosters
Emley Moor
Medway Dragons
Holderness Vikings
Eastern Rhinos
