Northampton Rebels
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

RFL League One (for sponsorship reasons currently known as the
Betfred Betfred is a bookmaker based in the United Kingdom, founded by Fred Done.Pronounced to rhyme with "bone". It was first established as a single betting shop in Ordsall, Greater Manchester, Ordsall, County Borough of Salford, Salford, in 1967. Its ...
League One) is a professional
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
competition based in the United Kingdom. Part of the British rugby league pyramid, the competition features clubs from England and Wales, and has previously included clubs from Canada and France. It is the
Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisati ...
's (RFL) third-tier competition, below the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
, with which it has
promotion and relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
. The league was inaugurated in 2003 when the
Northern Ford Premiership The Rugby Football League Championship Second Division was founded in 1902 and was the second tier of professional rugby league in the UK until 2003. During the 1990s a third division was established and there is automatic promotion between ...
was divided into two separate leagues, initially named National League One and National League Two. In 2009, the league names were changed to the Championship and Championship 1 respectively, with the latter adopting its current name of League One in 2015.


History


1991–2003: Foundation and regular competition

Third-division rugby league competitions in the United Kingdom have existed periodically since 1991. The current incarnation was created in 2003 when the second-division competition below
Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
, the
Northern Ford Premiership The Rugby Football League Championship Second Division was founded in 1902 and was the second tier of professional rugby league in the UK until 2003. During the 1990s a third division was established and there is automatic promotion between ...
, was split into National Leagues One and Two. Teams that finished in the top ten league positions of the Northern Ford Premiership at the end of the 2002 season formed National League One, while the remaining eight formed National League Two where they were joined by two additional clubs,
London Skolars The London Skolars are a professional rugby league club based at the New River Stadium, Wood Green, Haringey in north London. They were founded in 1995 and have been professional since 2003, operating in the Betfred League 1. They also run an ...
from the
Rugby League Conference The Rugby League Conference (RLC) (also known as the Co-operative Rugby League Conference as a result of sponsorship from The Co-operative Group), was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, ...
and
York City Knights The York Knights are the men's professional rugby league team of York RLFC (known as the York City Knights from 2002 to 2022) based in York, England. The Knights played their home games at Huntington Stadium before moving to Bootham Crescent. ...
, who replaced the defunct
York Wasps The York Wasps (known simply as York from 1868 to 1989, Ryedale-York from 1989 to 1996 and York Wasps from 1996 to 2002) was an English professional rugby league club based in York. At the start of the 2002 season, the club was dissolved. A ne ...
and also joined National League Two for the inaugural season in 2003.


2004–2009: National Leagues

At the end of the 2005 Super League season, an extra team was relegated to National League One in order to accommodate French side
Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons ( French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. The team competes in the Super League and are the only team from ...
' entry to the competition. In turn, an additional team was relegated from National League One to League Two, while
Blackpool Panthers Blackpool Panthers RLFC was an English professional rugby league club based in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire. They played at Bloomfield Road, between 2005-2007, then moved to the Woodlands Memorial Ground owned by Fylde rugby union club. They wer ...
were elected to National League Two for the 2005 season to replace the defunct
Chorley Lynx # Chorley Lynx was an English professional rugby league club based in Chorley, Lancashire. Under various names, they were members of the Rugby Football League 1989–93 and 1995–2004. History Formation as Chorley Borough Springfield Boroug ...
, leaving 11 teams in League Two. In order to even up the numbers, the Welsh team
Celtic Crusaders Crusaders Rugby League ( cy, Croesgadwyr Rygbi'r Gynghrair) was a professional rugby league club based in Bridgend and later in Wrexham, Wales. They played for six seasons in the Rugby Football League competitions, including three years in the ...
were admitted to the competition in 2005, first playing in the 2006 season and increasing the division to twelve teams.


2010–2014: Championship 1

In 2009 Super League was expanded to 14 teams, with two additional teams being promoted from National League One. In turn, two additional teams were promoted from National League Two to National League One at the end of the 2008 season, reducing the number of teams in National League Two to 10. National Leagues One and Two were then rebranded as
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
and Championship 1 respectively, with the change being implemented in time for the 2009 season.
South Wales Scorpions The South Wales Scorpions, known as the South Wales Ironmen in 2017, were a semi-professional rugby league club based in South Wales. They played in the third tier of the British rugby league system (currently known as RFL League 1, League 1) be ...
were admitted to Championship 1 for the 2010 season, increasing the number of teams in the league to 11. Blackpool Panthers left the league in 2011, once again reducing the number of teams to 10. In 2013, three new teams were admitted to the league;
Hemel Stags Hemel Stags are an amateur rugby league club based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. They were semi-professional and played in Betfred League 1 from 2013 until 2018. They withdrew from the professional system when their licence was purchased ...
,
Gloucestershire All Golds Gloucestershire All Golds is a rugby league team based at the University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. University of Gloucestershire All Golds consists of six different teams, with the first team entering Kingstone Press C ...
and
Oxford Rugby League Oxford Rugby League was a semi-professional rugby league club based in Oxford, England. The club was formed in 2012 and joined League 1 in 2013, playing for five seasons before agreeing to merge with Gloucestershire All Golds following the 20 ...
. To facilitate this expansion, in 2012 four teams were promoted to the Championship from Championship 1 and no teams were relegated from the Championship, meaning that the 2013 Championship 1 season was contested by 9 teams.


2015–present: League 1

In 2014 expansion and restructure took place with 5 teams relegated from the Championship and
Coventry Bears The Midlands Hurricanes are a semi-professional rugby league club jointly based in Birmingham and Coventry, West Midlands, England. They were founded as the Coventry Bears in 1998 and entered the third tier of the British rugby league system, ...
added to expand the league to 14 teams, which was then renamed League 1. A new playoff structure was also introduced with two teams being promoted to the Championship. In 2015 the
League 1 Cup League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...
was introduced as an additional competition for League 1 clubs. In 2016
Toulouse Olympique Toulouse Olympique or TO XIII is a professional rugby league club in Toulouse, south-west France. Founded in 1937, two years after the French Rugby League Federation, the club is a six-time winner of the French Rugby League Championship. The cl ...
joined the league, bringing the total number of teams to 15.
Toronto Wolfpack The Toronto Wolfpack are a Canadian professional rugby league club based in Toronto, Ontario, who compete in the North American Rugby League. The club originally competed in the British rugby league system but withdrew in the 2020 Super Leagu ...
joined the league in 2017, bringing the total number of teams to 16. In 2016, the Super 8s format that had been used in the
Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
and
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
was introduced to League 1. Under the amended structure, the 16 League 1 clubs play a regular season of 15 rounds, playing each other once either home or away. Following the conclusion of their regular league seasons, the 16 clubs then compete in a playoff series where they split into 2 divisions of 8 based upon league position: * The top eight League 1 clubs compete in the League 1 Super 8s. They play each other once (either home or away) to determine the champion and the four clubs that will compete in the playoffs for the second promotion place. * The remaining clubs compete for the
League 1 Shield The League 1 Shield was a competition that is played at the end of the regular rugby league season in the League 1 Super 8s of the League 1 (rugby league). Structure The teams that do not qualify for the Super 8s in League 1 play each other ...
. This format remained in use for the 2017 season but on 26 October 2017, it was confirmed that
Oxford Rugby League Oxford Rugby League was a semi-professional rugby league club based in Oxford, England. The club was formed in 2012 and joined League 1 in 2013, playing for five seasons before agreeing to merge with Gloucestershire All Golds following the 20 ...
and
Gloucestershire All Golds Gloucestershire All Golds is a rugby league team based at the University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. University of Gloucestershire All Golds consists of six different teams, with the first team entering Kingstone Press C ...
will not compete for the 2018 season, in favour of creating a merged club in
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
for 2019. This reduces the number of clubs to 14 and for 2018 the Super 8 format has been discarded and instead the teams will play a 26-game season; with home and away fixtures against all the other teams. The club top of the table after 26 games will automatically be promoted to the Championship and those finishing second to fifth will play off for the other promotion spot. The format was modified for 2019 following an RFL extraordinary general meeting in September 2018. The number of clubs in the division will be reduced to 12 and the top six teams will compete for two promotion places to the Championship. However, on 23 October 2018,
Hemel Stags Hemel Stags are an amateur rugby league club based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. They were semi-professional and played in Betfred League 1 from 2013 until 2018. They withdrew from the professional system when their licence was purchased ...
announced that the club was withdrawing from the league for 2019 reducing the number of teams to 11; the RFL indicated that no replacement team is to be sought for the time being. The team finishing top of the 11-team league after the 20-game regular season will automatically be promoted then a series of six further matches will decide the second promotion spot. Following the aborted 2020 season, the number of clubs was reduced to 10 as
Newcastle Thunder The Newcastle Thunder are a professional rugby league club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. They play in the Betfred Championship competition, the second tier of rugby league in the United Kingdom. They play their home matches at Kingsto ...
were appointed to the Championship and the planned entry of Ottawa Aces was deferred to 2022. Over the close season of 2021–2022 Ottawa Aces decided to relocate to Cornwall and Cornwall R.L.F.C. became the divisions eleventh team for 2022. A reduction to ten teams happened for 2023 as
West Wales Raiders The West Wales Raiders were a semi-professional rugby league club based in Llanelli, Wales. They competed in RFL League 1, League 1, the third tier of the British rugby league system, from 2018 until 2022. The club was founded in 2015 as an ama ...
withdrew from the league in December 2022.


Clubs

''*capacity for Rugby League games may differ from official stadium capacity.''


Structure

Teams play each other once home and away in a round robin system. There is no relegation from League 1. At the end of the season the team finishing first is promoted to the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
. Various systems have been used to decide the second team to promote, the current system - in use since 2019 - is for the teams finishing between 2nd and 6th compete in a playoff competition to decide the second promotion spot. In the play-offs first round there are two matches; the Elimination Final (EF) between the clubs finishing fifth and sixth, and the Qualifying Final (QF) between the clubs finishing third and fourth. For the losing team of the Elimination Final the season is over but the other three play in the semi-finals of the play-offs. In the semi-finals the 1st semi-final will be between the winning team in the EF and the losing team in the QF; while the 2nd semi-final will be between the team who finished second in the regular season (and had a bye in the first round of the play-offs) and the winning team of the QF. The team winning the 2nd semi-final will have home advantage in the Grand Final while the losing team will have home advantage in the Preliminary Final. The team losing the 1st semi-final will be out of the competition while the winning team will play the team losing the 2nd semi-final in the Preliminary Final. The winner of the Preliminary Final will play the winner of the 2nd semi-final in the League 1 Grand Final where the victorious team will take the second promotion spot to the Championship.


Results


Winners


Match officials

All rugby league matches are governed by the laws set out by the RFL; these laws are enforced by match officials. Former Super League and International Referee
Steve Ganson Steve Ganson (born 4 January 1970 in St. Helens, Lancashire, England) is a former rugby league referee, and current Head of Match Officials and Technical Director with the English Rugby Football League. He is the second professional referee fr ...
is the current Head of the Match Officials Department and Technical Director.


Sponsor

League One has had four different sponsors four times since 2003.
Betfred Betfred is a bookmaker based in the United Kingdom, founded by Fred Done.Pronounced to rhyme with "bone". It was first established as a single betting shop in Ordsall, Greater Manchester, Ordsall, County Borough of Salford, Salford, in 1967. Its ...
are the current title sponsors. The official
rugby ball A rugby ball is an elongated ellipsoidal ball used in both codes of rugby football. Its measurements and weight are specified by World Rugby and the Rugby League International Federation, the governing bodies for both codes, rugby union and rugby ...
supplier is
Steeden Steeden Sports is an Australian sports equipment manufacturing company, mainly focused on rugby league. The company is mostly known for its rugby league footballs. Steeden was established in Queensland in 1958, when twins Eric and Raymond Steeden ...
.


Expansion

The current RFL policy is to add expansion teams to the professional structure via entry to League 1. In 2011, the RFL invited expressions of interest for four additional British teams to join the competition starting in 2013. Of the 16 interested parties, three teams, University of Gloucestershire All Golds,
Hemel Stags Hemel Stags are an amateur rugby league club based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. They were semi-professional and played in Betfred League 1 from 2013 until 2018. They withdrew from the professional system when their licence was purchased ...
and
Oxford Rugby League Oxford Rugby League was a semi-professional rugby league club based in Oxford, England. The club was formed in 2012 and joined League 1 in 2013, playing for five seasons before agreeing to merge with Gloucestershire All Golds following the 20 ...
were accepted to join the league and began play in 2013, a fourth, the
Northampton Town F.C. Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland L ...
-linked Northampton Rebels were also accepted, but ultimately decided not to proceed. An additional team,
Coventry Bears The Midlands Hurricanes are a semi-professional rugby league club jointly based in Birmingham and Coventry, West Midlands, England. They were founded as the Coventry Bears in 1998 and entered the third tier of the British rugby league system, ...
(now the Midlands Hurricanes), were also accepted in September 2012, however it was decided that they would join from the 2014 season to give them additional time to prepare. Coventry again deferred their membership in 2014, eventually joining the league for the 2015 season. In 2015 it was announced that
Toulouse Olympique Toulouse Olympique or TO XIII is a professional rugby league club in Toulouse, south-west France. Founded in 1937, two years after the French Rugby League Federation, the club is a six-time winner of the French Rugby League Championship. The cl ...
, after talks with the RFL, had accepted the proposal to rejoin the English league structure in League 1 for the 2016 season, airing their aims for promotion in their maiden League 1 season in a bid to eventually achieve Super League status. They currently play in the Championship, having earned promotion at their first opportunity in 2016. In 2016, it was announced that
Toronto Wolfpack The Toronto Wolfpack are a Canadian professional rugby league club based in Toronto, Ontario, who compete in the North American Rugby League. The club originally competed in the British rugby league system but withdrew in the 2020 Super Leagu ...
would be joining the league from the 2017 season, becoming the first team to compete in the RFL structure from outside of the UK or France. The Wolfpack won the League 1 title in their inaugural season and now play in the Super League. In October 2017 it was announced that
Gloucestershire All Golds Gloucestershire All Golds is a rugby league team based at the University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. University of Gloucestershire All Golds consists of six different teams, with the first team entering Kingstone Press C ...
and
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
would withdraw from the league, merge and relocate the new club to
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
with the intention of rejoining the league for the 2019 season, however this did not eventuate and in 2019 the All Golds entered the relaunched
Conference League South The Southern Conference League is a British rugby league division in the Rugby Football League's tier 4. It is the highest level of amateur rugby league in the South of England and South Wales. It was one of the leagues that replaced Rugby Leagu ...
. In addition Hemel Stags announced their withdrawal from League 1 at the end of the 2018 season in order to rejoin the Conference League South. In March 2019 it was announced that Hemel's RFL membership had been bought by a consortium including Toronto Wolfpack founder
Eric Perez The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...
, with the intention of relocating the club to
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, Canada. The club would ultimately be based in
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
and be called Cornwall R.L.F.C. A bid to establish a team in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
was also formally considered by the RFL in March 2019. There has also been expressions of interest in joining the RFL system from Spain and Serbia through
Valencia Huracanes The Valencia Huracanes or Los Huracanes are a Spanish rugby league club, based in Valencia. They have applied to join the Rugby Football League's League 1 competition. During 2020 they have exhibition matches scheduled and will compete in the E ...
and Red Star Belgrade RL.


Media


TV

League 1 games in the past have been televised rarely and sporadically. Matches were previously broadcast in the UK on
Premier Sports Viaplay Sports and Premier Sports are a group of pay television sports channels owned by Viaplay Group. Viaplay Sports holds exclusive live UK and Republic of Ireland TV rights to La Liga, Scottish League Cup, Elite Ice Hockey League, NHL and ...
, however as of 2015 the competition does not receive television coverage. The newest member of the league,
Toronto Wolfpack The Toronto Wolfpack are a Canadian professional rugby league club based in Toronto, Ontario, who compete in the North American Rugby League. The club originally competed in the British rugby league system but withdrew in the 2020 Super Leagu ...
, has announced before the 2017 season that all of their games will be shown live on Canadian channel
GameTV GameTV is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment. It currently broadcasts a mixture of game shows, reality competition series, and films. The channel was first launched in 2005 under the ownership of ...
, as well as digitally on
CBC Sports CBC Sports is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for English-language sports broadcasting. The CBC's sports programming primarily airs on CBC Television, CBCSports.ca, and CBC Radio One. (The CBC's French-languag ...
.


Radio

Regional radio stations, including
BBC Local Radio BBC Local Radio (also referred to as Local BBC Radio) is the BBC's local and regional radio division for England and the Channel Islands, consisting of forty stations. History The popularity of pirate radio was to challenge a change within ...
and local commercial stations, provide coverage of the League 1 clubs.


See also

*
Rugby League Championships The Rugby League Championships (known as the National Leagues between 2003-2008) are the two professional divisions below the Super League, consisting of 12 teams in the Championship and 14 teams in League 1 (rugby league), League 1. Promotion a ...
*
British rugby league system The British rugby league system is based on a five-tier structure administered by the Rugby Football League. There is no system of automatic promotion and relegation between all five tiers although teams have moved between them in the past. Since ...
*
Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
*
National Conference League The National Conference League (known as the Kingstone Press National Conference League for sponsorship reasons) is the top English amateur rugby league competition in the Rugby Football League pyramid, and as such is the leading amateur rugby l ...
*
Northern Ford Premiership The Rugby Football League Championship Second Division was founded in 1902 and was the second tier of professional rugby league in the UK until 2003. During the 1990s a third division was established and there is automatic promotion between ...
*
National League Cup The Championship Cup, (known as the Northern Rail Cup for sponsorship reasons), and previously known as the National League Cup, was a rugby league football competition for clubs in the United Kingdom's Rugby League Championships. Although the ...
*
Rugby Football League Championship Third Division The Rugby Football League Championship Third Division was founded in 1991 and was the third tier of professional rugby league in the UK until 1998. History The RFL Championship Third Division was founded in 1991 to make the top two divisions ...


References


External links

*
RFL Championship coverageScores from Sky SportsThe League 1 show (podcast)
{{Rugby League in the USA Sports leagues established in 2003 2003 establishments in England Rugby league competitions in the United Kingdom Professional sports leagues in the United Kingdom Professional sports leagues in France Professional sports leagues in Canada Multi-national professional sports leagues