With the establishment of a new, independently-chaired Tier 2 Board of governance, the Championship has today (Friday) gained the right to a realistic possibility of promotion to the top tier of the game and taken charge of its own fate.
The promotion and relegation agreement that the Championship teams have been battling for since the start of 2023 was ratified by the RFU Council today.
As a result of the agreement, the minimum operational standards have been loosened to make them more attainable and the time frame for meeting them has been extended to four seasons. Complete information will be released eventually.
The terms and conditions of entrance had previously been deemed unsatisfactory by Championship clubs due to the required financial outlay and shortened timeline, which rendered them unfeasible for a prospective promotion candidate.
The new Tier 2 Board, which will be chaired by an independent and have equal representation from RFU and Championship members, was also agreed by the RFU Council at its meeting today. The Board will make decisions that impact the second-tier league’s commercial exploitation, enabling our teams to maximise their rights to marketing, advertising, and broadcasting.
Many of the teams in the league will now begin the preparation and investment necessary to offer them a realistic chance of becoming the first non-P shareholder to win the Premiership since London Welsh in 2014, now that a road to promotion has been agreed upon.
Following the voting by the RFU Council, Simon Halliday, the Championship’s chairman, declared, “We have achieved our goal.” Now, every club, including ours, may feasibly hope to be promoted to the Premiership.
Since the top tier is once again connected to the rest of English rugby, ambitious clubs have a real route to success. We can also leverage our commercial potential to help finance the much-needed expansion of rugby at our level.
“This outcome ensures that English rugby stays open and fair from the lowest league to the highest, bringing a shared resolve to our sport.”
