Professional Structure
- Tier 1: Super League
- Tier 2: Championship
- Championship 1
The league pyramid of rugby league in the United Kingdom is topped and very much dominated by Super League, with the 13 top teams from England and 1 in france. The top eight teams enter the play-offs and the winner is determined by a Grand Final.
Automatic promotion and relegation from Super ended in 2007. Fourteen teams were awarded 2009–11 Super League licences which gave them the right to play in Super League for the next three years. The next round of franchising took place in 2011 for the 2012–14 time frame. Only teams currently in Super League, or those who appeared in at least one Championship grand final or won the Championship Cup, were eligible to apply. Crusaders Rugby League, which had recently exited administration, withdrew their application for a licence, resulting in the end of Welsh presence in Super League for the immediate future. Their place in Super League was taken up by Widnes Vikings. Crusaders folded.after the 2011 season.
Below the Super League, there are two competitions collectively known as the Championships—the Co-operative Championship and Co-operative Championship 1. A play-off structure is used to determine the winners of both Championships. Normally, two teams are relegated from the Championship, being replaced by the team finishing top of Championship 1 and the winner of a play-off structure involving the six teams finishing behind the league leaders in Championship 1. The play-offs in each Championship division are a top-six format. For the 2012 season only, there will be no relegation from the Championship, as the RFL will expand the Championship to 14 clubs. The top four clubs from Championship 1 will be promoted, with their places being filled for 2013 by four new clubs.
The reserve teams of the Super League clubs play in the reserve team championship (except Catalans Dragons, whose reserves play in the French Elite League) and the reserve teams of some Championship clubs play in the reserve team first division
Read more about this topic: British Rugby League System
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