Toulouse and York have been promoted to an expanded 14-team Super League for 2026.
The two clubs, who contested the Championship Grand Final earlier this month, were selected by a five-member panel chaired by RFL non-executive director Lord Caine.
The panel was tasked with selecting the two best candidates to join the 12 teams who had already secured their place in the top-flight by virtue of the IMG grading scores announced on Thursday.
Toulouse and York, who ranked 13th and 14th respectively, were selected from a short list of applicants, with London Broncos considered the other viable contenders for a return to Super League.
Toulouse, who will join fellow French side Catalans in the top tier, played one season in Super League in 2022 before being relegated back to the Championship.
York have not played in the top division in the Super League era. A previous York club last featured in the top division, then the Championship, in 1986.
The decision will come as a blow to London, who had high hopes of being lifted back into the top flight after being effectively relaunched by a new consortium including Australian rugby league great Darren Lockyer.
“While we are naturally disappointed not to have been promoted and respect the process the RFL ran, our belief in this project and our direction as a club will not waiver,” Broncos co-owner Grant Wechsel said.
|The game of Rugby League needs a strong London team, and we will not stop until we return our club to the top level of the game. Darren Lockyer and I are determined people, and today’s decision will serve as strong motivation to drive our success in 2026 and prove people wrong.
“Our goal is to win the Championship, strengthen every area of the organisation, increase our grading points across the board, and ensure that when we do reach Super League, we are ready to compete from day one.”
It means next year’s Super League will feature three new teams, with Bradford Bulls having been confirmed on Thursday in place of Salford.
PA
