Magic Weekend and loop fixtures will be removed from Super League after next season, while the Challenge Cup final will be moved to May under IMG’s proposals.
Sports agency IMG have made their recommendations for the future of the game, the biggest being the introduction of a ‘grading system’ to determine which clubs play in the top tier.
They have also proposed a “re-positioned calendar” in which major events are removed, changed or freshly introduced from the 2024 season.
Although the campaign will roughly begin and end at the same time of year, Super League will have a reduced fixture list from that season, with only 22 regular-season fixtures.
IMG want to ditch the widely unpopular loop fixtures, but this would also include getting rid of Magic Weekend, despite the concept being among the more successful changes in the past 20 years and even being replicated in the NRL.
IMG’s vice-president of sports management, Matt Dwyer, said that Magic Weekend took fans away from other major events such as the Challenge Cup final which they would prefer to focus on.
Dwyer called the Challenge Cup “a key part of the Rugby League calendar” as IMG recommended moving the final to May, with earlier rounds of the competition closer together to “keep the narrative alive”.
The season as a whole would have ‘peaks of interest’, including the Cup, plus a climax to the season with a play-off series.
IMG also declared their interest in the creation of a new event, to engage with a new audience, an idea that is still to be developed further.
It comes following a question in their fan survey, during the consultation process, in which supporters were asked for their views on a “a regional/city-based competition” like cricket’s The Hundred, a “short-format competition” such as sevens or nines, and bringing back an Origin series.
Their ideas for the calendar also include a dedicated international window at the end of the season, aligned with the southern hemisphere, as well as space for a mid-season weekend of fixtures involving the England and France teams.
