Super League, is the top-level of the British rugby league system.
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29 Facts About Super League
2.
Super League began in 1996, replacing the existing First Division and, significantly, switching from a traditional winter season to a summer season.
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3.
Super League wanted the new league to break the stereotype of rugby league being a sport only played in Northern England and had a vision for clubs to play out of new facilities under a set of minimum standards in an unpublished document he called 'Framing the Future'.
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4.
Lindsay's Super League was given a boost during the mid 90s Australian Super League war.
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5.
Super League finally kicked off in 1996 with the 12 founding teams being:.
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6.
The inaugural Super League title was won by St Helens, breaking Wigans stronghold for the first time since 1989 while Workington were relegated.
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7.
RFL stated that clubs applying to compete in Super League would be assessed by criteria in four areas with the final evaluations and decisions being taken by the RFL board of directors.
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8.
In June 2008, the RFL confirmed that the Super League would be expanded from 12 teams to 14 in 2009 with the playoffs expanding to 8 teams, and on 22 July 2008 the RFL confirmed the teams awarded licences.
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9.
At the 2013 Annual General Meeting in Bradford, the Super League clubs agreed to reduce the number of clubs to 12 from 2015, and for a return of Promotion and Relegation with a 12 club Championship.
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10.
In June 2015 8 of the 12 Super League clubs voted to allow a Marquee Player that could exceed a clubs salary cap as long as they can afford their wages.
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11.
The Super League clubs were unhappy with the way the RFL was running the sport and wanted more control over future TV deals and sponsorship money.
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12.
In February 2021 Elstone announced he was to resign as Chief Executive of Super League, citing failures to bring outside investment to the league and the effects of the pandemic.
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13.
On March 22 2022 at a Special General Meeting it was announced the RFL and Super League were to officially realign after a majority of clubs voted in favour.
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14.
Super League adopted Golden point during regular season for the first time in 2019, bringing it in line with the NRL which had been using the system since 2003.
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15.
In 2014 and 2015 Super League clubs were unhappy with the Dual registration system and wanted to form an under-23 reserve leagues between the under-19s and first teams.
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16.
Leeds captain Kevin Sinfield currently holds the record for captaining the most Super League title winning sides after captaining Leeds to their first 7 grand final successes.
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17.
Super League has been won by 15 coaches, 10 from Australia, 4 from England and 1 from New Zealand.
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18.
Super League has been sponsored since its formation, apart from the 2013 season.
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19.
Super League operates under a real-time salary cap system that will calculate a club's salary cap position at the start of and throughout the season:.
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20.
In 2017, Super League clubs approved proposals to increase the salary cap over the next three seasons, eventually rising to £2.
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21.
All Super League matches are governed by the laws set out by the RFL; these laws are enforced by match officials.
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22.
Between 2009 and 2014 teams had to apply for a licence to play in Super League, which was partly awarded based on a club's financial viability; this meant there was no longer automatic promotion from the Championship into Super League.
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23.
Consequently, the Super League came to be seen as a closed shop for its existing members, with entry based primarily on financial capability.
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24.
Additionally, the only time that lower division clubs got the chance to play illustrious Super League opposition was in the early rounds of the Challenge Cup.
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25.
Since their arrival in 2006, The Dragons have enjoyed a sustainable and competitive period in Super League which has seen them become the first non-English team to win the Challenge Cup in 2018, the League Leaders Shield in 2021, and reach the Super League Grand Final, in 2021.
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26.
Expansion of the sport was a key policy of the Rugby Football League when Super League was created, and has consistently been considered important for the future well-being of rugby league.
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27.
The Super League Show is available for streaming or download using the BBC iPlayer in the UK.
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28.
Internationally, Super League is shown live by eight broadcasters in eight countries and regions.
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29.
Talksport is an official broadcaster of Super League, broadcasting commentaries and magazine programming on Talksport 2.
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