Rfl To Launch Women’s Super League

The Rugby Football League (RFL) is working on plans to launch a Women’s Super League this summer, according to media reports.

The league will bring together elite teams from the women’s game into a professionally-run competition, alongside the men’s Betfred Super League.

Teams which currently operate as community clubs will be aligned to men’s Super League outfits, but the players will remain amateur.

Sport England has backed the move, which announced last week a grant of £10.75m over the next four years to the RFL, as the governing body looks to attract more women to the game, as well as black, Asian and minority ethnic players.

It is expected six to eight teams will compete in 2018, building a 12-team Super League by 2021. Club will be expected to come under the umbrella of local professional clubs’ brands.

The RFL’s director of development, Sarah-Jane Gray, who took up the role in November, will be leading the project.

Gray said: “The women’s game has been growing but only by modest amounts and we wanted to see a big lever to kick it on.

“We were already committed to this and it was one of the pillars of the RFL’s submission to Sport England, who are very supportive of it.”