2017 Challenge Cup
| Duration | 9 Rounds |
|---|---|
| Number of teams | 72 |
| Broadcast partners |
BBC Sport Sky Sports |
| Biggest home win |
London Chargers 116 – 0 Bridgend Blue Bulls (1st Round) |
| Biggest away win |
Aberdeen Warriors 8 – 62 Pilkington Recs (1st Round) |
The 2017 Challenge Cup, (also known as the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the 116th staging of the Challenge Cup the main rugby league knockout tournament for teams in the European Super League, the British National Leagues and a number of invited amateur clubs.
The defending champions are Hull F.C. who beat Warrington Wolves 12–10 in the 2016 final at Wembley Stadium.
The format of the competition is eight knock-out rounds followed by a final. The first two rounds are composed entirely of 32 amateur teams. The eight winners of the second round ties are joined in round 3 by the 16 League 1 teams including for the first time a Canadian team, the Toronto Wolfpack (Toronto will play "home" Challenge Cup games at Manchester Regional Arena). For the fourth round the 12 Championship teams are included in the draw. Round 5 sees four Super League teams entering the competition. These are the four teams that finished in the top four positions of the 2016 Qualifiers and are Huddersfield Giants, Leeds Rhinos, Leigh Centurions and Salford Red Devils. The remaining eight Super League teams join in round 6.
The draw for the first round of the 2017 Challenge Cup was held on 5 January 2017 at The Deep to celebrate the city being named 2017 UK City of Culture and Hull FC’s efforts in 2016 and featured 32 amateur teams from around the United Kingdom including one student team, all three armed services and the police. Home teams were drawn by Lee Radford and the away teams drawn by Dean Andrew, President of the RFL and The RAF.
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