The Rugby Football League states no teams will be relegated from the Super League in 2020

The 2020 Super League season is to have no relegation and this year’s Championship and League 1 campaigns will not resume, the Rugby Football League has announced.

Second- and third-tier clubs will be invited to play in a competition this autumn, which has a £250,000 prize pot.

The decisions were announced on Monday evening following a meeting of the RFL board.

Rugby Football League has announced that there will be no relegation from Super League

Also discussed was Toronto Wolfpack’s withdrawal from Super League for the remainder of the season, which had been announced by the club earlier in the day.

A statement from the RFL said: ‘There will be no relegation from the 11-team Betfred Super League in 2020 – for reasons of integrity, player welfare and also to protect the solvency of clubs.

‘The Betfred Championship and League 1 seasons will not resume in 2020 – this follows the Government announcement last week identifying October as the earliest opportunity for the return of crowds to sport, and the finding of a survey of Betfred Championship and League 1 clubs that a majority in each competition would not support playing matches behind closed doors.

‘Again, the issue of protecting the solvency of clubs informed this decision.

It was also decided that the Championship and League 1 campaigns will not resume this year

‘The Betfred Championship and League 1 clubs will be invited to play in a competition this autumn, with a theme of celebrating the sport’s 125th anniversary – and with a prize pot of £250,000, thanks in part to financial support from the Betfred Super League clubs.

‘Further details of this competition will follow this week – it will be voluntary, and there will be a detailed application process requiring clubs to prove their ability to meet the necessary protocols and medical standards.

‘There will be no automatic promotion to the Betfred Super League from this competition.’

With regard to Toronto Wolfpack’s withdrawal, there had already been a joint statement from Super League and the RFL issued earlier in the day expressing their disappointment with the situation.

And on Monday evening, the RFL said there would be ‘further discussions to follow with SLE (Super League Europe), as per today’s statement’.

The Super League season is set to resume on August 2.