Super League is set to become a 12-team competition from 2015 after the 14 member clubs backed plans to introduce an innovative new league structure.
From next year, Rugby League’s elite competition will feature 12 clubs alongside a 12-team Championship that splits into three groups of eight if the changes are ratified by the RFL’s independent Board of Directors. At a meeting in St Helens this afternoon, the clubs voted to return promotion and relegation and pledged their support to the proposed structure which is a central tenet of the RFL’s Policy Review.
Super League (Europe) Chairman Brian Barwick said: “I would like to thank the clubs for their contribution to what was a very fruitful and positive meeting.
“The clubs were virtually unanimous in their view that Super League should become a 12-team competition from 2015 and that there should be meaningful movement between Super League and the Championship.
“There was a full and frank debate about the competition structures and a commitment to support the proposed format.
“The Super League clubs’ decision will now go before the RFL’s independent Board of Directors for ratification next week.”
Full details of the new structures will be announced later this month.