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2025 RFL Championship

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2025 Betfred Championship
Teams13
2025 season
2026 →

The 2025 RFL Championship, (officially known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons), is a professional rugby league club competition. The second tier of the British rugby league system comprises 13 clubs – 12 from England and one from France.

The season comprised 24 rounds in the regular season with the top six teams taking part in the play-offs to determine the champions.

Team changes

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Wakefield Trinity won promotion to the Super League at the end of 2024 and were replaced by London Broncos who were relegated from Super League under the IMG grading system. Promoted from League One in 2024 were Oldham and Hunslet who replaced the 2024 relegated teams, Swinton Lions, Whitehaven and Dewsbury Rams.

Structure changes

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There will be no automatic promotion from the Championship to Super League at the end of the season. This is due to the IMG grading scheme where clubs are graded by a number of factors, not all based on on-field performance.[1]

Following a review of the league structure below Super League, the RFL announced that by the start of the 2026 season, the Championship and League 1 would be equalised in size at 12 teams each. In March 2024 the RFL completed the review and announced that the first steps will be taken to equalise the number of teams in the Championship and League One at 12 each by the start of the 2026 season. Following the 2-up, 3-down system in 2024, 2025 will see the return of the Super 8s format with the top four teams in League One meeting the bottom four teams in the Championship to decide which division those clubs will play in for 2026.[2] Details are still to be finalised but it is anticipated that the top three in the Super 8s will play in the Championship in 2026 with the remaining five in League One.[3]

Clubs

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Locations of English teams competing in the 2025 Championship.
Locations of the 2025 RFL Championship teams in West Yorkshire
Locations of 2025 RFL Championship teams in France
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Barrow Raiders Barrow-in-Furness Craven Park 6,000
Batley Bulldogs Batley Mount Pleasant 7,500
Bradford Bulls Bradford Odsal Stadium 22,000
Dewsbury Rams Dewsbury Crown Flatt 5,100
Doncaster Doncaster Eco-Power Stadium 15,231
Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Post Office Road 8,000
Halifax Panthers Halifax The Shay 10,401
Hunslet Leeds South Leeds Stadium 4,000
London Broncos Wimbledon, London Plough Lane 9,215
Oldham Sale Boundary Park 13,500
Sheffield Eagles Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park 1,320
Toulouse Olympique Toulouse Stade Ernest-Wallon 19,500
Widnes Vikings Widnes DCBL Stadium 13,350
York Knights York York Community Stadium 8,005

Results

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Table

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Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Barrow Raiders 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Semi-finals
2 Batley Bulldogs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 Bradford Bulls 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Eliminators
4 Doncaster 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 Featherstone Rovers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 Halifax Panthers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 Hunslet 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 London Broncos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 Oldham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 Sheffield Eagles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Super 8s
11 Toulouse Olympique 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 Widnes Vikings 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 York Knights 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: unknown. Source: RFL
Rules for classification: 1) Competition points; 2) Points difference; 3) Points percentage (points scored/points conceded x 100)


References

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  1. ^ "First IMG gradings revealed as clubs learn fate; Leeds Rhinos lead the way, Super League outfit appeal verdict". LoveRugbyLeague. 25 October 2023.
  2. ^ "Super 8s to return as part of overhaul of Championship rugby league plans". Love Rugby League. 13 March 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Webster's Cougars contract "indefinite" as he tackles dual role and Super Eights". Keighley News. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.