Rugby league clubs reportedly set to be cut adrift under new sensational IMG plans

It’s fair to say that rugby league is heading into a brand-new era and people currently have little idea as to what that may entail in 2023.

Though there is no set plan to change the structure of Super League and the lower leagues just yet, that will all change by the end of September when clubs throughout the three leagues – Super League, Championship and League 1 – get the blueprint from IMG about which direction the sport will be heading.

Of course, first on the list is how the leagues will be structured with two Super League divisions of ten teams the idea most consistently doing the rounds.

Now, the structure of the leagues has been discussed on The Full Eighty MInutes podcast with Bradford Bulls reporter The Game Caller and leading rugby league agent, Craig Harrison of Show Me The Money UK.

“The original plan was that the teams who aren’t in Super League A and Super League B they will go into an unfunded third division which is effectively amateur,” The Game Caller said.

“They don’t get central funding, yes they will still get season tickets and some owners have said they aren’t getting that much money from the RFL anyway so they would happily put profit from their businesses to try and get out.

“But, it wouldn’t be a closed shop. Promotion and relegation is engrained into British sports. That jeopardy is what sells those fixtures at the bottom.”

The lack of a closed shop would give those clubs in the unfunded third division hope that if they get things right off the field as well as on it that they could perhaps be given a space in the two Super League divisions, starting from the bottom.

That being said, a number of clubs are expected to be cut adrift to fit the new IMG plans that will be revealed later this month.