The Co-Operative Championship

Earlier known as the National League One, the Co-Operative Championship is a second level tournament that is one level below the Super League. Although it is not as popular as the Super League, the Championship attracts a number of rugby fans in the UK. There are eleven teams that participate in this semi-professional tournament, out of which ten teams are from England and one team is from France. This had added the European dimension to this championship, and added to its existing popularity. The Championships are sponsored by The Co-Operative Group, which also sponsors the Championship 1 that is one level below the Championship.

Championship Structure

The Co-Operative Championship consists of 22 rounds where the teams play each other to qualify for the grand final. The teams playing in the Championship are given points depending on their performance in the game. A team is given three points for a win, two points in case of a draw, and one point if it loses by 12 points or less. The position of a particular team in the Championship is determined by the number of points it gains.

At the end of the season, the top six teams move on to play the Play-Offs, whereas the last two teams in the season would be relegated from the Championship and replaced by the top two teams from Championship 1. The play-offs are held over a period of 4 weeks, after which two teams play the Grand Final. The play-offs structure is as follows.

In the first week, the clubs in the last four positions play Preliminary Semi-Finals against each other. The club ranked 3rd plays the 6th, while the 4th plays against the 5th. The Winners move on to the second week to play the Qualifying Semi-Final.

In week two, the teams ranked 1st and 2nd in the Championship season play the Qualifying Semi-Final against each other and the winner moves directly to the Grand Final. On the other hand, the winners of week one play the Minor Semi Final against each other and the winner plays the loser from the Qualifying Semi-Final.

In the third week, the Major Semi-Final is played between the losing team of the Qualifying Semi Final and the Wining team of the Minor Semi Final. The winner of the Major Semi Final will move in to play the Grand Final.

The team that wins the Championship gets the Co-Operative Championship Trophy and also the chance to move into the Super League.

Super League License

Teams to the Championship are admitted on a franchise basis, after which they are reviewed every three years. Unlike before, the Championship teams are not given the licenses to the Super League automatically. To gain a Super League license, the Co-operative Championship club has to meet the following criterion.

The club should have reached the Championship final or have won it.
The club should have a turnover of at least £1,000,000 and
The club should have a stadium that is operational and accommodates a minimum of 10,000 spectators

Clubs meeting these requirements can apply to the RFL, which will then allocate the license to the suitable candidates.