SUPER LEAGUE expansion is back on the agenda after nine clubs earned Grade A status for next season.
And it could happen as soon as 2026, although the move would have to pass the significant hurdle of being approved by existing Super League clubs.
The progress of many teams in the club gradings has strengthened the possibility that there will be more than twelve Grade A clubs in the near future, which is meant to guarantee Super League participation.
But current top-flight sides would have to accept a smaller slice of central distribution to expand the competition, making it more realistic to only happen from 2027 should the next TV deal – the current one is for 2024-26 – bring more revenue.
“Based on there being nine Grade As, that conversation probably starts sooner than we expected,” said Rhodri Jones, managing director of RL Commercial.
“There’s a broader conversation to be had around 14 teams. It’s been an ongoing conversation for the last five years, so it’s not a new conversation.
“But there was always a statement that said once we get to twelve Grade As, we would review the structure of the top division. That’s what we’ll do.
“I think we need to have the conversation first in terms of the desirability to go to 14 teams, which is a running agenda item anyway with the Super League clubs.
“Financial sustainability is number-one in the discussion. Are the current twelve prepared to divide it by 14?
“If we now have nine Grade A clubs and we go twelve, we are going in the right direction. We then have to look at what 13 and 14 look like. If they become Grade A clubs, we have reason to look at becoming a 14-team Super League.
“The construct of the Super League competition is at the mercy of decisions by Super League Europe, as opposed to RL Commercial or IMG or the RFL.
“We can be a part of that discussion, but ultimately it’s up to clubs to decide whether they become a ten-, twelve- or 14-team competition. That’s the decision-making process.
“But 14 teams has been a conversation going around for a good couple of years. It’s a live conversation. I don’t think anybody at the moment is having the real conversation – it’s side conversations – but I think this will bring it into focus.”
Click here to get the digital edition of League Express
Click here to subscribe to the print edition of League Express
League Express is also widely available from local newsagents across the north of England.
