Championship (rugby league)
| Championship | |
|---|---|
Current season or competition:: 2017 Rugby League Championship
|
|
 |
|
| Sport | Rugby league |
| Instituted | 2003 |
| Inaugural season | 2003 |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Countries |
 England (11 teams) France (1 team) |
| Champions |
 Leigh Centurions (4th title) (2016)
|
| Most titles |
Leigh Centurions (4 titles)
|
| Website | kingstone press leagues |
| Broadcast partner | Sky Sports |
| Related competition | Challenge Cup |
| Promotion to | Super League |
| Relegation to | League 1 |
The Championship, known as the Kingstone Press Championship after its title sponsor Kingstone Press Cider, is a professional rugby league competition based in the United Kingdom. It acts as the country's second-tier competition below the Super League, and has a system of promotion and relegation with the third-tier competition, League 1. It is organized by the Rugby Football League, the governing body for the sport in the UK, and currently consists of 12 teams. The current champions are Leigh Centurions.
The current incarnation of second division rugby league in England dates to 2003, when the Northern Ford Premiership was split into National League One and National League Two. In 2009 the league names were changed to the Championship and Championship 1, with the latter being rechristened League 1 in 2015.
Second division rugby league competitions in the United Kingdom have been played at various times since 1902, and have been in place annually since 1973. When Super League began in 1996, the second division continued to operate a system of promotion and relegation with the new competition. In 1999 the second-tier competition below the Super League was renamed the Northern Ford Premiership (NFP) when Northern Ford Dealers acquired the naming rights.
In 2003, the NFP was re-organised into National Leagues One and Two. Teams that finished in the top ten league positions of the 2002 Northern Ford Premiership joined National League One and the bottom eight joined National League Two. They were joined by London Skolars from the Rugby League Conference, who entered National League Two, and York City Knights, who replaced the defunct York Wasps (who had folded mid-season in 2002) and also joined National League Two in 2003, creating two ten-team leagues which operated a system of promotion and relegation between themselves while also maintaining the promotion and relegation between National League One and Super League. At the same time, National League Three was created with teams from the Rugby League Conference and from the British Amateur Rugby League Association amateur leagues. It was intended that there would be promotion and relegation between National League Two and National League Three when League Three became more established, however this never eventuated.
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