As has been reported and revealed by various Championship clubs throughout the off-season, substantial progress has been made in finalising the fixture list for the 2026 Championship season. We therefore believe it is only fair to update fans as we will be looking to launch our 2026 season tickets shortly.
2026 Betfred Championship Format
Following the decision to merge the Betfred League One and Betfred Championship divisions at the end of the 2025 season, it is envisaged that the 2026 Championship will comprise 21 teams, namely:
- The 10 Betfred League One sides from the 2025 season;
- The 10 Betfred Championship sides from the 2025 season that were not promoted to the Super League for 2026 (i.e. excluding Bradford Bulls, York Knights and Toulouse Olympique); and
- Salford Red Devils, who were relegated from the Betfred Super League following the conclusion of the 2025 season.
Due to the number of teams in the competition meaning the clubs cannot all play each other home and away (which would lead to a 40-game season ignoring any play-offs), the Rugby Football League has confirmed there will be a 24-game regular season with an expected 10-team play-off structure. This means the Midlands Hurricanes will be guaranteed at least 12 home games in 2026, potentially increasing depending on any home Challenge Cup/1895 Cup draws and whether the club makes the 2026 play-offs.
In terms of who each club will play, the governing body has created a “pendulum” system that will see clubs primarily play sides who finished in roughly the same league positions as them, along with localised fixtures aimed at increasing the chance of derbies/local rivalries where the clubs are not already scheduled to face each other. This means that for the 2026 season, the club’s opponents will in part reflect the fact we finished 5th in League One last season (so 16th out of the 21 teams in this year’s competition). At present, the Hurricanes believe the 12 sides they will face in the 2026 Championship season are (complete with their 2025 league position):
- Oldham RLFC (4th in the Championship);
- Doncaster RLFC (8th in the Championship);
- London Broncos (10th in the Championship);
- Batley Bulldogs (12th in the Championship);
- North Wales Crusaders (1st in League One);
- Workington Town (2nd in League One);
- Swinton Lions (3rd in League One);
- Rochdale Hornets (6th in League One);
- Goole Vikings (7th in League One);
- Whitehaven (8th in League One);
- Keighley Cougars (9th in League One); and
- Newcastle Thunder (10th in League One)
Fixture Schedule
Provisional fixtures have been prepared and are expected to be released in early December, however the regular season is expected to commence on the weekend of 17/18 January 2026 and end the weekend of 29/30 August 2026. Should the Canes make the play-offs, these would take place between the weekends of 5/6 September 2026 and 3/4 October 2026.
Fans may be aware that in addition to Birchfield Harriers, West Bromwich Albion Women now play their home games at The Alexander Stadium (with their season running from August to May each year). Having cross-referenced our anticipated fixture dates with those of the Baggies, we do not currently anticipate any fixture clashes during the 2026 season.
The club is also aware that The Alexander Stadium will be hosting the European Athletics Championships between 10-16 August next year. To the extent our anticipated fixture list clashes with the hosting of the Athletics Championships, we will keep fans updated with respect to any fixture changes as soon as possible.
2026 Season Tickets
As mentioned at the top of this story, the club is about to release details of our 2026 season tickets as we embark on our first ever season in the Betfred Championship. We are confident that fans will find our season ticket prices to be fantastic value when compared to other Championship clubs, especially with the additional perks a 2026 season ticket brings for those committing to be part of the storm for this all important step in our rugby league journey!
