New Zealand Rugby have pledged their commitment to the 2020 Farah Palmer Cup despite the coronavirus pandemic.

The women’s tournament aims to kick off on August 22 and will see 13 teams compete for the title currently held by Canterbury.

The domestic competition will have a revised schedule consisting of 39 matches, with teams first competing in two pools across a seven-week round robin, before two weeks of play-off matches.

The governing body said it will be a great way for players to prepare themselves for the Women’s Rugby World Cup in September and October next year, which is being hosted by New Zealand.

Cate Sexton, NZR Head of Women’s Rugby, said: "We are heading into a celebrated time for women’s rugby, with both the Olympics and the Rugby World Cup taking place next year.

"We believe that the Farah Palmer Cup will provide high-quality rugby for our players in their preparations.

"Notwithstanding the financial challenges of the Covid 19 pandemic, it was always our intention to make sure we had a quality competition for our female players to compete in and we are really happy with this outcome.

"The Provincial Unions have been working incredibly hard to establish and develop their women’s high performance programmes and as the game continues to grow, this competition is an exciting showcase of the women’s game."

Players from the World Sevens Series will also be able to compete after their global competition was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tournament was renamed in 2016 after former All Blacks captain Farah Palmer, having previously been titled the Women's Provincial Championship since the inaugural edition in 1999.

Palmer added: "This will be an enthralling competition and just what we need as we build momentum into next year’s World Cup.

“I have no doubt our players will want to put their best foot forward as they strive to play in the black jersey at a home World Cup."

The full draw for the pools will be announced in the coming weeks.