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2 hours ago
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Super League’s proposed expansion to 14 teams is facing an 11th-hour challenge from clubs amid fears it could jeopardise the future of rugby league as a professional sport.
Hull KR and Hull FC voted against expansion at Headingley in July, but other clubs are now understood to have expressed doubts about the Rugby Football League’s plans and want to “press the pause button” until 2027.
The concerns centre on the financial sustainability of a 14-team Super League and the RFL’s failure to share a detailed business plan with the clubs. The Guardian has learned that while the RFL leadership gave a presentation at an informal owners’ meeting before the vote in July, multiple requests from several clubs for a detailed financial analysis underpinning expansion have gone unanswered.
No documents were provided at the formal shareholders’ meeting where the vote took place, and the minutes of that meeting have not been shared.
There has been some discussion among the unhappy clubs about calling an extraordinary general meeting to demand a revote, but their efforts are currently focused on lobbying behind the scenes. Informal meetings between some clubs and the RFL are understood to have been scheduled for this week.
“We’re not against going to 14 per se, but it has to be done properly,” one club source said. “We went to a meeting without being given any papers and haven’t received the financial modelling. The whole thing is being rushed and the process has not been robust enough.
“An expansion process in other competitions, such as the NRL in Australia, takes years but the RFL are trying to do it in a matter of weeks. The panel appointed to determine Super League membership have not been given enough time to scrutinise the applications properly. We should press the pause button to make sure our sport is financially viable for the long term.”
The application process for a place in next season’s Super League closed last Friday, six weeks after the vote for expansion. The decision on the new Super League clubs, which could number three if the financially troubled Salford Red Devils are expelled from the competition, will be announced in another five weeks on 16 October, five days after this year’s Grand Final, after assessments by an independent panel chaired by the Conservative peer Jonathan Caine.
In addition to the quick turnaround there are also concerns about how the expansion will be funded. Sky Sports has made clear it will not increase its rights fee, and there are fears the company will lower its offer when its three-year contract expires next season, having already cut its annual rights fee from £40m to £21.5m since 2021.
“Sky don’t want expansion, and we should be wary of alienating them,” another source said. “Most clubs are losing money, and the main broadcaster doesn’t want it, so why are we expanding? It doesn’t make sense. If the Sky money goes down, then some clubs may have to go part-time.
“The finances of Super League clubs are fragile, and one of our shareholders is facing potential insolvency. In that context, I find it perplexing that we have not been provided with a rigorous financial analysis of the impact of expansion.”
An RFL spokesperson said: “The clubs have been considering an expansion of Super League for over a year and across many meetings. This led to the meeting at Headingley in July at which the 12 Betfred Super League clubs received the rationale, including financial, and voted overwhelmingly in favour.”
