Roughyeds play new name game

SQUAD numbers and player names will appear on the back of Roughyeds shirts from next season, in a new rebranded competition.

The former National League One now becomes The Co-operative Championship in 2009, with National League Two to be known as The Co-operative Championship 1.

This change is driven by the introduction of French club Toulouse to the old NL1 competition from next season, rendering the ‘National’ element of the title anomalous.

In addition to those changes, the two divisions will be competing for a record combined pool of prize money of £200,000.

Both finalists in The Co-operative Championship Grand Final will be elibigle to apply for a Super League license for the 2012-2014 seasons.

“These competitions have been growing in popularity each year and this year attendances in National League One reached an 11-year high,” said RFL chief executive Nigel Wood.

“The Championship was chosen after researching various options with supporters. It has historical relevance within the sport and until 1995 was the main competition to play for in this country.

“Next season supporters will know that their team is playing to win the Championship, a competition to win in its own right, and one that comes with a strong financial reward.”

A new centrally-produced matchday programme is also being introduced by the RFL, with each club – including Oldham – being given two pages of editorial content to fill for every round of games.

However, while this is designed to help out clubs who don’t make any money on programmes, Oldham will also continue to produce their own profitable version.