WARRINGTON WOLVES chief executive Karl Fitzpatrick has revealed that the key drivers behind the expansion of Super League from 12 to 14 teams was down to loop fixtures and the integrity of the competition.
Earlier in the week, it was announced that the top flight would have two more sides competing from 2026, rather than 2027 – a decision which took a number of people by surprise.
Now Fitzpatrick has explained why Warrington – who were one of nine Super League sides to vote for the new model – were onside with the proposal.
“It’s important to state our position with the 13 teams and we have made this clear in the meeting that first of all, whatever the league competition looks like, we don’t think it’s the silver bullet,” Fitzpatrick said live on Sky Sports.
“We believe in the importance of promotion, PR and marketing the sport. The league competition needs to be considered and the conclusion of that was that 14 teams, on balance, is the best way to move forward.
“The removal of the loop fixtures was a big one for us. You consult with supporters and they aren’t fans of it and as well as competition integrity, that was a big one.
“Super League has been going on for over 20 years and we have had ten different iterations. 14 to me isn’t going to solve all our problems.
“There is supporter fatigue, you could end up playing teams five or six times and now we are making the decision to change that.
“This is only the start of the strategic review. The 14 teams is the first point, it’s now what happened after that is the most important thing.”
Fitzpatrick also went on to explain the context behind the top 12 Super League sides been chosen by the IMG grading system and two by an independent panel.
“I’m not going to defend either process but I will give context here. We have the IMG grading criteria which determines the top 12 clubs.
“During this period we have seen what happened at Salford. The financial element of the IMG grading system is probably not thorough enough.
“Therefore we hope this panel is able to wash out any kind of financial concern of any club that applies.
“I doubt that the two teams that come up will be as weak as the Salford team – that is an academy side.
“I’m not too sure on the terms and conditions that they will come in with but the panel will flush out.
“If they’ve not got the ownership model to bankroll those two clubs, they won’t be in Super League.”