A statement from Super League Europe has confirmed that the clubs have voted to move to a 15-team competition for the 2027 season, however, the Rugby Football League now must now approve that decision.

It’s a decision that has dragged on with not only the fate of Super League undecided until a decision is made, but also that of the Championship as the clubs have been waiting to see if London Broncos will be moved into Super League.

Of course, it was not the Broncos who finished 15th on the IMG gradings but instead Barrow Raiders, however, it’s understood that the Cumbrian side are willing to forego Super League, whilst there has been a big NRL push for the capital club to be entered as team 15.

Super League clubs had pushed back in earlier votes given the short timescale but a majority have now agreed per today’s statement, which reads: “Super League (Europe) Ltd has today held a shareholders’ meeting to determine how many clubs will take part in the competition in 2027.

“Having agreed in favour of moving from 14 to 15 clubs, SLE has passed their decision on to the Rugby Football League Board.”

What happens next after Super League vote?

Next up, the RFL board have to make a judgement on the decision to move to 15 teams and then recommend which club it will be who becomes team 15.

The statement confirmed: “The RFL Board will now set out criteria and assemble a panel to run the process to judge against it.

“A recommendation will be made in due course.”

Of course, that’s widely expected to be London but the formal process will need to be adhered to before the Broncos can be confirmed, at which point the real work starts.

A new fixture list will need to be sorted given the move to 15 teams, which obviously leads to bye rounds, whilst a season start date is also yet to be announced.

With the expectation being that the season will start in late January or early February, the RFL now have a hectic few weeks to try and get things in place as soon as possible to prevent further harm to the integrity of the competition and each team’s pre-season preparations.

https://t.co/qxqGnARg2s

— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) November 11, 2026

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