By the end of December, the respective bids from any aspiring Championship team will be lodged with the Rugby Football League (RFL) in the hope that come March 2011 the promised land (otherwise known as Super League) will offer a seat at the top table to the best equipped club.
In 2008 the RFL announced that promotion and relegation (to and from Super League) would be scrapped in favour of a franchising model used by the Australian ARL. This franchise system was brought in for the 2009-2011 seasons and was intended to provide security for the 14 best placed clubs (who would be given a grace period without the horrors of relegation) and to provide a template for the lower league teams who aspired to play with the big boys in later years. The Super League criteria consisted of:
- Playing Strength - which clubs added to the overall competition?
- Attendances - Average attendance over 2500
- Junior Development - At least 8 home grown juniors in squad
- Finances - Stable, turnover of at least £1million
- Ground - At least 10k capacity, 8k seated
- Location - Preference for clubs at least 20 miles away from other Super League team (South Wales, London)
This process has been embedded in the Australian sporting culture for over 80 years and works perfectly well down under and as the Australian way is always the model followed by the RFL - it must be the way forward here, mustn't it? Why then is there still agression and animosity to this process, however transparent the process is supposed to be? Why do supporters from clubs over the country clog up forums demanding we go back to the good ole' days?
Simples. We are British.
We thrive on the cut and thrust of promotion and relegation in all our mainstream sports at professional and amateur level. It is the fundemental ethos behind sport in this country and is the reason that fans all around the country spend their hard earned cash on supporting their team at all lower levels. To remove this dream removes the heartbeat of lower league sport and that is simply wrong. We are not Australia, nor are we USA with their Baseball, American Football or Basketball franchises which are moved around the country on a whim.
Can you imagine the outcry if Blackpool Football Club, with it's antiquated stadium, low attendances and no youth set up had fought off all challengers last year in football's Championship, won the play off at Wembley, only to be told "Sorry lads, well played but you can't be promoted to the Premiership, never mind" There would quite rightly be a public outcry. Not just along the Golden Mile but throughout football.
We want the traditional 3 pointer at the foot of the table, the hope that just 1 more win could keep us up, the awful feeling of supporting our local rivals just for 1 game because they are playing a team fighting to avoid the same relegation that we are fighting against.
We are British and we want our promotion and relegation back.
P.S. To the RFL. My club Widnes Vikings are most likely to gain a franchise spot at this round of applications, so I'd be very grateful if you are going to change the process can you wait until after March 2011, thank you very much.
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