The Rugby Football League (RFL) is delighted to unveil AB Sundecks Limited as the title partner of the 1895 Cup, the final of which will be played at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 24 August.

AB Sundecks has established itself as one of the UK’s leading manufacturers and installers of complete PVCu decking solutions to the leisure and domestic markets. The sponsorship announcement comes as the last 16 teams in the competition prepare to go head-to-head in the coming days.

The RFL introduced the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup as part of new-look Wembley line-up which also includes the Coral Challenge Cup Final and the traditional Champions Schools Year 7 curtain-raiser.

RFL Chief Executive, Ralph Rimmer, says:
“We’re delighted to announce this partnership with AB Sundecks and look forward to working with our new partners in the coming weeks and months. Rugby League is a summer sport and ‘sundecks’ says ‘sunshine’ so this is a perfect match.

“Wembley Stadium has been the setting for many of the game’s greatest matches and I’m hopeful that the 1895 Cup Final will create even more magical memories for players and fans alike.”

Laura Beaumont, Marketing Director at AB Sundecks, adds:
“We are delighted to be sponsoring the 1895 Cup in its inaugural year. AB Sundecks have been associated with Rugby League for more than a decade, and we are very passionate about the sport sponsoring grassroots, amateur, women’s and professional teams.

“I personally feel it’s important for the children’s and women’s sections of the sport to be well supported to increase the spread of the game. We are now looking forward to growing our involvement by expanding our support of the game through the RFL, working with them to grow our relationship further, assist the Championship and League 1 level as a whole, and engage our leisure industry partners.

“We shall be looking to make our involvement fun for the fans with an exciting competition we will be running in conjunction with the launch of our sponsorship.”

The introduction of AB Sundecks 1895 Cup gives Championship and League 1 clubs – and their fans – an additional opportunity to reach Wembley, on top of the established Challenge Cup route. 12 Championship clubs feature in the last 16, alongside four from League 1. Among them only Sheffield Eagles and Bradford Bulls have played in a Challenge Cup Final at Wembley during the Super League era (i.e. since 1996), and none since the Challenge Cup Final returned to its spiritual home in 2007. Details of AB Sundecks products and nations services can be found by visiting www.absundecks.co.uk or by calling 01204 709029.

There are five ties this Sunday (2 June).

• Leigh Centurions v Workington Town
• Oldham v Doncaster
• Dewsbury Rams v Swinton Lions
• York City Knights v Newcastle Thunder
• Batley Bulldogs v Rochdale Hornets

The remaining fixtures take place on Wednesday 5 June.

• Barrow Raiders v Bradford Bulls
• Widnes Vikings v Featherstone Rovers
• Halifax v Sheffield Eagles

RFL Chief Executive Ralph Rimmer and AB Sundecks MD Laura Beaumont are pictured with the 1895 Cup at Wembley Stadium