Super League to grow to 15 clubs for 2027

Super League's shareholders have agreed to expand the competition from 14 clubs to 15 for the 2027 season, according to the BBC. Super League is the top tier of professional rugby league in England, the 13-a-side code with its six-tackle sets and fast, open play.

If the plan goes ahead, it will be the first time the league has run with 15 teams. It is also a further step up from where things stood a year ago. Salford Red Devils dropped out after the 2025 season, and the league grew from 12 clubs to 14 for 2026. Bradford Bulls, York Knights and Toulouse Olympique joined that year.

The shareholders have not picked the new club. Instead, they have passed the decision to the Rugby Football League board, which runs the sport's governing body in England. The board will set out the criteria for choosing a club and put together a panel to judge the process.

Clubs below the top flight are already watching closely. London Broncos won the Championship Grand Final and the 1895 Cup last season. The Championship is the second tier, and the Grand Final decides its champion. Even so, the club ranked 16th on the yearly grading list, one place below Championship side Barrow Raiders. The Broncos have the backing of Australian businessman Grant Wechsel and former Brisbane Broncos player Darren Lockyer.

Those results do not decide anything on their own. Expansion places are awarded through the process the board sets up, and that process has not yet been published. Until the criteria are out, nobody can say which club has the strongest case.

For supporters, the coming months are about the rules. The criteria will show what the board values most, whether that is on-field results, finances, stadium or the size of a club's fanbase. Those details will matter as much as the number 15.