Challenge Cup revamp unveiled

BASKETBALL

MANCHESTER Phoenix are set to be part of a revamped English Challenge Cup competition this coming season.

Teams from the English Premier League (EPL) and National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) will face each other in a regional round-robin format.

Peterborough, Sheffield, Solway, Billingham, Blackburn, Telford and Phoenix will play in the North Conference, with Basingstoke, Bracknell, Guildford, Swindon, Chelmsford, Invicta, Isle of Wight and Milton Keynes completing the South.

To aid parity Phoenix and their EPL peers will feature a number of under-21 British players when they take on their NIHL opponents.

They will also play under that league’s rules.

Ken Taggart, chairman of the EIHA, said: “This is a very exciting competition that has been put together and to have clubs from different leagues play each other is fantastic.

“For the supporters, it means they will have the chance to see teams that they wouldn’t normally see.

“I expect that teams from the NIHL will want to take a scalp when they come up against the EPL sides.

“Of course, the EPL players won’t want to lose face, so the matches will be very well-fought.”