Warrington Wolves’ CEO Karl Fitzpatrick has fronted up on Sky Sports to explain the sport’s decision to expand Super League to 14 teams.
That’s a decision that was made on Monday with the club owners voting on a number of resolutions with the option of expanding Super League to 14 teams for the 2026 season being supported.
Nine of the twelve clubs voted for that with Fitzpatrick’s side among those and he’s now explained exactly why that was, speaking on Sky Sports ahead of the Wolves taking on Leigh Leopards.
Arguing that expansion to 14, mainly driven by loop fixtures, would “improve Super League”, the Warrington Wolves man admitted that this isn’t a magic wand of a “silver bullet”, with more work still to come.
Fitzpatrick explained: “It’s important to state our position with the 14 teams and we have made this clear in the meeting that first of all, we weren’t going to die on the hill of 14 teams.
“Whatever the league competition looks like, we don’t think it’s the silver bullet. We believe in the importance of promotion, PR and marketing the sport.
“The league competition needs to be considered and after a healthy debate of three plus hours, the conclusion of that was that 14 teams, on balance, is the best way to move forward.”
Why Warrington Wolves’ CEO supports 14 team Super League
Fitzpatrick would then passionately explain why that was deemed the right way to move forward with eradicating loop fixtures being the main motivation.
He said: “Why do we believe that? The removal of the loop fixtures was a big one for us. You consult with supporters and they aren’t fans of it and as well as competition integrity. They were the big factors.
“Super League has been going on for over 20 years and we have had ten different iterations. 14 isn’t going to solve all our problems but in consultation with IMG and supporters, that there is supporter fatigue.
“If you draw a team in the cup then you could end up playing teams five or six times and supporters don’t want that and now we are making the decision to change that.”
Derek Beaumont, another who supports the decision, has explained the argument for expanding in 2026 by arguing along the lines of ‘What’s the point in waiting if you agree something is a good thing?’
Others would claim it’s rushed with both Chris Chester and Paul Wellens noting that it could dilute the quality of Super League in the immediacy, however, Fitzpatrick has called for patience.
The Warrington Wolves man said: “This is only the start of the strategic review. The 14 teams is the first point, it’s now what happens after that is the most important thing.”
Karl Fitzpatrick, CEO of Warrington Wolves, on the decision to expand the Super League to 14 teams 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/E7q4Gmt1xS
— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) August 1, 2025
