Super League\u2019s proposed expansion to 14 teams is at risk of an 11th-hour challenge from clubs amid fears it could jeopardise the future of rugby league as a professional sport.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s plans and want to \u201cpress the pause button\u201d until 2027.<\/p>\n
The concerns centre on the financial sustainability of a 14-team Super League and the RFL\u2019s failure to share a detailed business plan with the clubs. The Guardian has learned that while the RFL<\/a> leadership gave a presentation at an informal owners\u2019 meeting before the vote in July, multiple requests from several clubs for a detailed financial analysis underpinning expansion have gone unanswered.<\/p>\n No documents were provided at the formal shareholders\u2019 meeting where the vote took place, and the minutes of that meeting have not been shared.<\/p>\n There has been some discussion among the unhappy clubs about calling an extraordinary general meeting to demand a revote, but their efforts are focused on lobbying behind the scenes. Informal meetings between some clubs and the RFL are understood to have been scheduled for this week.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not against going to 14 per se, but it has to be done properly,\u201d one club source said. \u201cWe went to a meeting without being given any papers and haven\u2019t received the financial modelling. The whole thing is being rushed and the process has not been robust enough.<\/p>\n Hull FC\u2019s Jordan Rapana makes a break against Hull KR on 7 September. Both clubs voted against expansion. Photograph: Steve Mower\/ProSports\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n \u201cAn 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The application process for a place in Super League next season 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<\/a> are expelled from the competition, will be announced on 16 October, five days after the grand final this year, after assessments by an independent panel chaired by the Conservative peer Jonathan Caine.<\/p>\n In addition to the quick turnaround there are also concerns about how the expansion will be funded. Sky Sports<\/a> 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 \u00a340m to \u00a321.5m since 2021.<\/p>\n