BARROW Raiders and their Betfred Championship rivals will begin the new 1895 Cup with a round of midweek matches at the start of June, the RFL have confirmed.

The knock-out competition for Championship and League One clubs, with the exception of Toronto Wolfpack and Toulouse Olympique, will see the Raiders and their fellow second-tier sides enter at the last 16 stage.

The 12 English Championship sides will be joined at that stage by four of the teams from the third tier, who kick off the Cup on the weekend of May 10 and 11.

Round two commences in the week starting June 5, three days after the Challenge Cup quarter-finals.

The 1895 Cup quarter-finals will then be played in the week starting June 26, followed by the semi-finals a month later on the same weekend as the last four of the Challenge Cup.

The competition concludes at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, August 24, where it serves as a curtain-raiser to the Challenge Cup final.

It means Barrow are just three wins from appearing at the famous venue for the first time since 1967, when they lost to Featherstone Rovers in the Challenge Cup final and RFL chief executive Ralph Rimmer expects the new cup to be keenly contested.

"We hope the introduction of the 1895 Cup will provide an extra flavour to the season as we get into the summer, making that dream of playing at Wembley much more realistic for the Championship and League One clubs," said Rimmer.

1895 Cup dates: Round one (League One clubs enter) – May 10-11; Round two (Championship clubs enter) – Week starting June 5; Quarter-finals – Week starting June 26; Semi-finals – July 26-27; Final – August 24.