...in 2020 is to be held in July.

So we will probably see a huge reduction in the gap btw. the quarters and Semi final.

June or even May would be better but at least it’s a step in the right direction.

Only moving to accommodate soccer European Championships. Ralph Rimmer on radio stated 2021 and after still undecided on timing.

Not a bank holiday weekend then.

1/4 final - Mid May
Semi final - Mid June
Final - end of July.

Give a 5-6 week gap between Semi and Final.

I wouldn't be surprised if the semi final was the week before the final!

Knowing the incompetence of the RFL they could go for a triple header.

Semis in the afternoon and final in the evening. Numpties

Great news because the event is dying, Catalan got a lot of stick last year for a low crowd but this years sales don't look a lot better despite featuring two of the leagues best supported sides and Widnes and Sheffield boosting the numbers, still many tickets left in the bottom two tiers.

They need to attract neutrals again, playing away from a Bank Holiday will at least help with the transport issues, people can at least get a train to London on a July weekend.

How does it accommodate the Euros? I know plenty of games - including both semis and the final - are being played at Wembley, but the tournament will be in June and July. Moving the Challenge Cup final to July actually brings it closer to the Euros, which will be long over by the time August Bank Holiday arrives.

Maybe they want to relay the pitch in August, i.e. the Challenge Cup Final will be the last game on the old pitch

That's a direct quote from Ralph Rimmer interviewed on the radio - I think it was 5Live RL Podcast but can't be sure.

A lot of rugby league fans are anti-football but many also follow football. Some are football first and rugby league second.

Having the CC final during the football season at the country’s biggest stadium (therefore harder to fill) hundreds of miles from the heartland sees a lot of neutral fans not bother going down to Wembley for the CC final.

With football costing so much these days, the cost and timing in going down to London for the CC final sees fans of football not bother with the CC final. So they’ll either stay at home and watch the CC final and their footy teams on tele, or choose to go to their football team’s local game, especially if they have a seasoncard.

It’s a bit different for the GF at Old Trafford because it is more local and the cost to get there from the heartland is cheaper. Plus it’s a smaller stadium.

The CC final does get larger attendances but that’s mainly due to it being the big day out for the two sets of fans it involves.

I bet a July CC final will see Wembley full. Rather than 68-77000 attendances (or worse if a foreign team gets there).