Oldham and Toulouse Olympique are clubs with very different backgrounds but both believe they have what it takes to deserve a spot in next year’s expanded Super League competition.
MIKE FORD is not a man who is interested in anyone harping on about the past.
He is not interested in anyone who goes on about how Oldham, his home-town club he is now managing director of, lasted only two seasons in the early years of Super League before collapsing with liabilities of £2million, and have bounced between the second and third tiers since.
The former Great Britain international is not interested in anyone who thinks the likes of four-time Super League champions Bradford Bulls are more deserving of a place in next year’s expanded 14-team top-flight on the basis of their potential to rekindle the glory days two decades ago, either.
All Ford is interested in is the future, something he and chairman Bill Quinn have been solely focused on since they took over the Roughyeds two years ago, with their sights now on being one of at least two lower-division clubs who will be joining the elite in 2026.
“People say to us ‘Oldham are not the favourites, other [Championship] clubs are in front of Oldham’ – and I’m thinking ‘Why?’,” Ford told Rugby League World prior to Oldham’s play-off defeat to Halifax.
“You’re not going back 20 years to when Bradford last won Super League and were getting 10,000 crowds, you’re starting from August 31 and how you’re going to fund this project in Super League.
“We feel we’ve got more than an even chance because, since me and Bill Quinn took over the club, we’ve shown in our intentions way before there were 14 teams going to go into Super League with the squad we put together last year in League One and the squad we’ve put together with the signings we’ve made recently.
“That’s why we feel, actually, the intent the club has shown in the playing squad on the field, the increasing crowds [at Boundary Park] and other things, this a club which is up and coming. I know it’s only two years into it, but that’s what they want to see.”
The past might be a foreign country, but as a far as rugby league goes they don’t do things much differently there.
In fact, the whole process of deciding the 13th and 14th teams to compete in Super League next year is remarkably similar to the one which was run to decide which team would replace Toronto Wolfpack in the competition for 2021 following their demise – right down to Lord Jonathan Caine chairing the panel which will make the final adjudication.
Of the 12 clubs which expressed an intent to submit an application by the 26th August deadline, four – Bradford, London Broncos, Toulouse Olympique and York Knights – went through that process at the end of 2020, too.
Toulouse eventually earned promotion to Super League via the Championship play-offs for 2022, being relegated after one season, and this time around aim to have done enough to be promoted back as one of the top 12 teams on IMG grading after missing out to Salford Red Devils by 0.39 points last year.
That still rankles with sporting director Cedric Garcia, particularly given Salford’s subsequent financial strife, but he believes the French club have done enough to show they deserve to join compatriots Catalans Dragons in the division whichever way promotion comes.
“It’s difficult at the moment to improve on our [IMG] grade because we’ve done the job and there are parts of the grading you can only improve if you’re in Super League,” Garcia told Rugby League World. “But on the field and off the field, I believe we’ve done everything needed to be in Super League.
“Without sounding cocky or anything, we believe we deserve to be there – and for French rugby league, it’s difficult for Catalans Dragons to be in there on their own.
“I think we need to create some kind of rivalry between them and us to grow the sport, and in the end have a good, competitive French team which can compete with England.
“That’s one of the goals set by the RFL, and I believe we need two Super League clubs to achieve that on a mid to long-term basis. One year was difficult to build anything.”
By contrast, Oldham were one of the lowest-ranked Championship clubs in last year’s IMG gradings in 27th overall, being awarded just seven points, but that does not concern Ford.
While the grading system is based on achieving points for what has gone before, applications for teams 13 and 14 are as much about long-term sustainability both on and off the field – an area the 59-year-old believes his club have a significant advantage.
On the field, Oldham have recruited strongly to put in place a squad packed with Super League experience and have another £500,000 to invest should they be promoted, along with restoring the youth pathways which now have 300 children from the area involved in the hope of finding the next Barrie McDermott, Kevin Sinfield or Marc Sneyd – to name a select few of the players the town’s community clubs have produced.
Off the field, the Roughyeds are in the process of purchasing their Chadderton training ground at Melrose Playing Fields from the RFL where Ford aims to use his 25-year experience of coaching in elite-level rugby league and union to develop a base which will be the envy of others.
Accessing a share of £2million-a-year government regeneration funding for the area will help the club add tennis courts, plus a clubhouse and indoor sports centre to make it a community-focused facility which provides Oldham with a steady non-matchday income.
Similar plans are already evolving at their home ground of Boundary Park, where they are negotiating a long-term extension to their initial 10-year lease, via the £70million SportsTown project and Ford sees no reason Oldham cannot become the leading light for rugby league in the region.
“I’m pinching myself to see where the club is now and the opportunity in front of us now from when we first took over,” Ford said.
“When I first took over, we had nothing – all we had was a team…and a kit. Through fortune and through ambition we’re in that position.
“When we put our financial sustainability application in, of course we’ll have Bill Quinn as the backer and other sponsors who are going to quadruple the sponsorship when we get to Super League.
“Of course we’ll have a bigger crowd and more revenue coming in, but away from that matchday experience, how is a club going to earn extra revenue?
“That’s one aspect of it, is this can be quite self-sustainable, and the other aspect is what’s happening at Boundary Park.”
One of the most notable aspects of the application process is that squad strength will be assessed by the England Performance Unit, although Garcia sees no reason that will put French outfit Toulouse at a disadvantage given they returned to the British professional system in 2016.
Now based at Stade Ernest-Wallon, the 19,500 home of rugby union giants Stade Toulousain, Toulouse have 400 registered players from under-sevens up to their open-age teams, plus a full-time first-team coaching set-up headed by Sylvain Houles and a 12-strong full-time staff across all other departments.
Both Toulouse and Oldham were among nine clubs who followed up their initial expression of interest by submitting a formal application ahead of the 12th September deadline. The composition of the 2026 14-team Super League to be announced on 16th October.
That does not leave much time for whichever teams are promoted to strengthen for next year, never mind having relatively little time to put together detailed applications in the first place, yet Garcia is confident Toulouse’s long-term strategy has them well-placed for the future if they get in.
“You have the decision which comes very late, and of course, we’ll have to look to see if we can bring in some recruits,” Garcia, who has been given assurances by those at the top of the RFL both them and Catalans are not in danger of being kicked out of the British leagues, said.
“But we won’t change anything because, from Championship to Super League and the way we operate, the training sessions will be at the same time, the coaching staff, performance staff and medical team will be the same.
“The core of the squad will be the same – everything is in place. Obviously it’s a big step up in terms of on-field performance, but we have everything ready.
“There will be some addition, but it will be limited. Our philosophy has always been we will not change everything when we get promoted because you cannot rebuild everything in such a short time.”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 513 (October 2025)