On Sunday 23 August, the Women’s National Championship will enter its final round, bringing a competitive season to a close.
This follows the near conclusion of the Women’s League 1 season, with one remaining fixture between Workington Town and Stanningley still to be played this weekend.
Manchester Swinton Lionesses head into the final round already crowned League Leaders, having cemented their place at the top of the table with an impressive 484-point difference.
The Lionesses have taken the league by storm, beating league favourites and former champions London Broncos, as well as winning the Women’s Challenge Shield Championship earlier this year.
With one round remaining, the other top four contenders: London Broncos, Warrington Wolves and Cardiff Demons, have one final opportunity to climb the league ladder and determine the order of the Play-Off places.
However, the excitement and action are far from over. The top four teams in the National Championship will advance to the play-off stages on 6 September, where they will battle for the chance to earn promotion to the Betfred Women’s Super League.
League Leaders Manchester Swinton Lionesses will face the team finishing fourth, while second place will take on third place in the semi-finals. The winners of both fixtures will then progress to a fiercely contested final, which will decide the number one contender to face the bottom-placed team from the Women’s Super League Shield competition. That fixture, coined as the ‘Promotion Play-Off Final’, will then be played as a curtain-raiser at the 2026 Women’s Grand Final.
The 2026 Betfred Women’s Super League Grand Final venue will take place at the 2026 Women’s Super Four League Leaders’ home ground, to be revealed shortly.
To view the fixtures of the final Nation Women’s Championship round please click here.
Photo Credit: Mark Stringer
