Sports betting operator Betfred has secured the Rugby League “Double” for 2021, the company informed in a press release. As a result, Betfred will be stepping in as title sponsors for the Challenge Cup and add to the existing partnerships with the Super League. The partnership covers the Women’s Challenge Cup and the Betfred Women’s Super League. The company is also becoming the title partners of the Wheelchair Rugby League Challenge Cup.
Where is Betfred headed with the Challenge Cup sponsorships?
The Betfred Challenge Cup is now set to kick with the 2021 Rugby league season that commences on March 21, and eight clubs coming from Betfred Championship and League 1. Then, another 12 Betfred Super League clubs will be joining for the Third State of the competition, on the weekend of April 11, the company informed in a press release.
The draw for the First and Second Rounds are slated for Thursday, February 11 and the Quarter Finals have already been scheduled for May 8 and May 9. The semi-finals are coming in on June 5 and the final will take place at Wembley on Saturday July 17.
RFL chief executive Ralph Rimmer explained what the partnership meant and what fans can expect. ” are excited to announce an extension of Rugby League’s partnership with Betfred to include the Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair Challenge Cups in 2021. The Challenge Cup is Rugby League’s oldest knockout competition and even in the challenging circumstances of 2020, we were reminded of its enduring appeal with a national television audience of 1.6m watching Leeds Rhinos beat Salford Red Devils in the first – and hopefully last – Final played behind closed doors,” Rimmer.
Rimmer was referring to the fact that Leeds Rhinos won the event last year after they had to play without audience due to the pandemic and most of live sports audiences prohibited on the territory of the United Kingdom. Broadcasts continued as normal.
He was positive about the Challenge Cup outlook, citing a renewed partnership with the BBC, and expressed his full confidence that rugby would help with recovery in 2021.
“We are convinced that sport will play a key role in the regional and national recovery from Covid through 2021, and determined that Rugby League and the three Betfred Challenge Cups will be a big part of that story,” explained Rimmer.
Betfred founder and CEO Fred Done added: “I am delighted to be able to announce further support for the sport of Rugby League in what are incredibly difficult times. The Challenge Cup obviously has a rich heritage and I was also very keen to include both the Women’s Challenge Cup and the Wheelchair Challenge Cup in what is such an important year for the whole sport culminating with the World Cup in October/November.”
Done was cited as one of the top UK tax payers with Betfred continually contributing to the country’s coffers and honoring all treasury payments.
Update: The Sponsorship has been extended even further, read all about it here.
—
Editor’s Note: Dear reader, you’re currently going through an archived news article from our Casino Gaming News section that might be outdated. For the newest developments within the igaming industry, kindly visit our homepage.