The England Rugby Union (RFU) announced that the Premiership is expanding to 13 teams for the 2021-22 season.
That means there will be no relegation from the Premiership to the Championship, or from the Championship to the National. Promotion to the Premiership remains for the Championship winner, provided the 2020-21 winner is eligible for the promotion based on the current Minimum Standards Criteria.
The new structure has the unanimous support of the Premiership Rugby clubs. The RFU Council today approved a moratorium on relegation for the 2020-21 campaign. The collaboration agreement between RFU, Championship and Premiership Rugby foresees that the world-class competition will be expanded to 13 teams starting next season.
Darren Childs, Premiership Rugby Executive Director said: “We welcome today’s decision and thank the RFU Council members for their support. The priority for everyone involved has been to protect the long-term sustainability and success of English professional rugby for the fans and clubs that have endured enormous financial and sporting challenges over the past two seasons.
“The progress made in collaboration with all of our key stakeholders across the sport has been fantastic. Our focus remains to continue to strengthen that alignment through transparency and dialogue on the long-term success of the game at the national and national levels in England”.
