World Club Challenge

World Club Challenge

Current season or competition: 2024 World Club Challenge
Sport	Rugby league
Instituted	1976; 48 years ago (1976)
Inaugural season	1976
Number of teams	2
Nations	Australia  England  France  New Zealand  Wales
World Champions	Wigan Warriors (2024)
Most titles	Sydney Roosters Wigan Warriors (5 titles)
Broadcast partner	Nine Network Sky Sport Sky Sports BBC Sport NITV
Related competition	National Rugby League Super League World Club Series

The World Club Challenge is an annual rugby league competition between the winners of the Australian National Rugby League and the British Super League, for the de facto club world championship of the sport.

Super League sides have won the competition 15 times with National Rugby League sides only having 14 wins including an all Australian final

The first such match was played in 1976, although this was not an official competitive game. The first official World Club Challenge saw Widnes Vikings beat Canberra Raiders 30–18 at Old Trafford on 4 October 1989, after which it became a semi-regular fixture due to the 1990s Super League war. The competition has been held every year since 2000 (excluding 2020–2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

Wigan Warriors are the current champions, defeating Penrith Panthers 13–12 in 2024 at the DW Stadium in front of a sell out crowd of 24,091.

Sydney Roosters and Wigan Warriors have both won the competition 5 times which is the joint highest in all formats since the competition began.

Sydney Roosters are the most successful Australian and National Rugby League side, having won the trophy five times with no losses. Wigan Warriors are the most successful European and Super League side, with five wins. St Helens, Penrith Panthers and Leeds Rhinos have been runners up the most times, with four times each.

Penrith Panthers are arguably the most unsuccessful side in the competition being runners up four times but having never been crowned champions.