The draws for the first and second round of the 2022 Challenge Cup will take place this (Tuesday) evening as the road to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium begins.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of the draws…
When and where are the draws?
The draws will take place from 5.30pm from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which will host the final of the competition for the very time next May.
The double draw will be streamed live on the BBC Red Button as well as the RFL’s Our League website and app.
Who is in the first round?
The first round the competition will only involve amateur sides, who make their return after missing out on a 2021 edition which was slimmed down due to the effects of Covid on the sport.
There are 28 teams in the hat for the opening draw, half of them coming from the National Conference League.
Teams representing the Southern Conference League, Cumberland League, North East League, North West Men’s League, Pennine League and Yorkshire Men’s League are also in the cup.
There are also sides from Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as the four service teams – the Army, Great Britain Police, RAF and Royal Navy.
The ball numbers are as follows:
1 Bentley
2 Bridgend Blue Bulls
3 British Army
4 Edinburgh Eagles
5 Ellenborough Rangers
6 Featherstone Lions
7 Galway Tribesmen
8 Great Britain Police
9 Hunslet Club Parkside
10 Jarrow Vikings
11 Leigh Miners Rangers
12 Lock Lane
13 London Chargers
14 Milford
15 Orrell St James
16 Pilkington Recs
17 RAF
18 Rochdale Mayfield
19 Royal Navy
20 Siddal
21 Stanningley
22 Thatto Heath Crusaders
23 Thornhill Trojans
24 Upton
25 West Hull
26 Wests Warriors
27 Wigan St Patricks
28 York Acorn
Who is in the second round?
The second round will involve the 14 winners of first-round ties, along with the 10 participating League 1 teams who enter at this stage.
Every third-tier side is involved except for Cornwall, who have opted out of the competition for 2022.
The ball numbers are as follows:
1-14 First Round winners
15 Doncaster
16 Hunslet
17 Keighley Cougars
18 London Skolars
19 Midlands Hurricanes
20 North Wales Crusaders
21 Oldham
22 Rochdale Hornets
23 Swinton Lions
24 West Wales Raiders
Who will conduct the draw?
England star Morgan Knowles, fresh from signing a new contract with St Helens, will conduct the draw having won the Challenge Cup trophy last season.
He will be joined by Michael Dawson, a former Tottenham Hotspur captain and now a club ambassador.
When will matches be played?
First-round matches will be played on the weekend of January 15-16, with the second round taking place two weeks later on the weekend of January 29-30.
When do Super League and Championship clubs enter?
Click here for a full breakdown of each round and when every other club enters the competition.
