CUMBRIAN rivals Workington Town and Whitehaven will play each other for the Ike Southward Memorial Trophy a week before the start of the new Championship season.

The game takes place at Workington’s Fibrus Community Stadium on Sunday, January 11 (3pm), and it could be the last time that the pre-season game takes place at the ground.

Town are due to move to the new Cumberland Sports Village planned on the site of the nearby Borough Park, home of Workington’s football club.

Whitehaven are the current trophy holders, having won 18-12 at the Ortus REC last season.

Ike Southward, a former Great Britain winger, had a distinguished career playing more than 370 times for Workington, and then went on to coach both clubs.

He died aged 71 in June 2006, and since then the teams have regularly held a match in his memory.

It’s the first time since 2019 that Workington and Whitehaven have spent consecutive seasons in the same division.

In the new merged Championship competition, Workington are due to travel to Whitehaven on Good Friday, April 3, with the reverse fixture occurring on Bank Holiday weekend at the end of August.

Entry for the Ike Southward game is cash only, adults £15, free for Under 16s, with the gate split evenly between the clubs.

Workington are looking to establish themselves in the new merged second tier and push towards a top-ten play-off spot.

They recently announced that stadium title partners Fibrus Broadband had extended their sponsorship.

Chairman Graeme Peers said: “We see ourselves as a middle-band club at the moment, growing year by year. The aim is to push towards the top ten and the play-offs. We’ve recruited a squad to do that.

“There were some tricky financial times in early 2022 before Fibrus came on board. Their support allowed us to recover quickly. We wouldn’t have been where we are now without them.”