The French rugby league system is a four tiered structure with the major national club competition being the
Super XIII
Super XIII is the top level rugby league competition in France, sanctioned by the French Rugby League Federation. The season runs from September to April, which is in contrast to the majority of other major domestic rugby league competitions w ...
. Below this is
Elite 2 and a number of regional leagues. The teams in each competition can change each year depending on final standings and relegation/promotion.
There is no set structure for promotion and relegation. If a club wants to go up or down a level then they will consult the
Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII who will make the decision.
French clubs can also apply to the
Rugby Football League
The Rugby Football League (RFL) is the governing body for rugby league in England. Founded in 1895 as the Northern Rugby Football Union following 22 clubs resigning from the Rugby Football Union, it changed its name in 1922 to the Rugby Footb ...
to compete in any level of the
British rugby league system
The British rugby league system is based on a five-tier structure administered by the Rugby Football League.
Professional clubs
The following is a list of professional and semi-professional clubs in the British rugby league system:
*''*capaci ...
.
Super XIII
Known as the Elite 1 until 2024,
Super XIII
Super XIII is the top level rugby league competition in France, sanctioned by the French Rugby League Federation. The season runs from September to April, which is in contrast to the majority of other major domestic rugby league competitions w ...
it is the top tier of rugby league in France and sees teams relegated to and promoted from the Elite 2 Championship. In the 2024–2025 season Super XIII has eleven teams.
Elite 2
Elite 2 is the second tier of rugby league in France. Winning teams are promoted to Super XIII, providing they meet stadium/financial requirements. Team's finishing bottom can be relegated to the National Division. In the 2024–2025 season there are nine teams in the division.
National Division 1
The National Division is the third tier of French rugby league. In the 2024–2025 season it has 8 teams.
National Division 2/3
For the 2024–2025 season, the National Division 2/3 season is played in two phases with 25 teams initially divided into six pools and then reorganised into two divisions based on their ranking after the first phase.
Pyramid
French teams to play in the British RFL
*
Catalans Dragons
The Catalans Dragons (French language, French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan language, Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. Despite being based in France the ...
:
Super League
Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
(
2006
2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
Events
January
* January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute.
* January 12 – A stampede during t ...
–present)
*
Toulouse Olympique
Toulouse Olympique or TO XIII is a professional rugby league club in Toulouse, south-west France. Founded in 1937, two years after the French Rugby League Federation, the club is a six-time winner of the French Rugby League Championship.
The clu ...
:
Super League
Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
(
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
),
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this sys ...
(
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
–
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
;
2017
2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly.
Events January
* January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
–
2021
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
;
2023
Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
–present),
League 1 (
2016
2016 was designated as:
* International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
* International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
)
*
PSG:
Super League
Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
(
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
–
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
) ''defunct''
Super League
As of 2022 France has two teams competing on the British
Super League
Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
–
Catalans Dragons
The Catalans Dragons (French language, French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan language, Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. Despite being based in France the ...
and
Toulouse Olympique
Toulouse Olympique or TO XIII is a professional rugby league club in Toulouse, south-west France. Founded in 1937, two years after the French Rugby League Federation, the club is a six-time winner of the French Rugby League Championship.
The clu ...
. There is no automatic promotion and relegation between Super League and French domestic leagues, and Transitions between the leagues is done by Application to the
Rugby Football League
The Rugby Football League (RFL) is the governing body for rugby league in England. Founded in 1895 as the Northern Rugby Football Union following 22 clubs resigning from the Rugby Football Union, it changed its name in 1922 to the Rugby Footb ...
. Catalans Dragons have been a Super League team since their application was approved ahead of the
2006 season, whereas Toulouse played in the
2022 season after gaining promotion from the lower British divisions.
PSG also competed in Super League for two seasons between
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
and
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
.
Championship
Toulouse Olympique
Toulouse Olympique or TO XIII is a professional rugby league club in Toulouse, south-west France. Founded in 1937, two years after the French Rugby League Federation, the club is a six-time winner of the French Rugby League Championship.
The clu ...
are the only French team to have played in the Championship, playing two seasons in 2009 and 2010, before rejoining the French league system. They spent a further five years between 2017 and 2021, after reapplication to the
British rugby league system
The British rugby league system is based on a five-tier structure administered by the Rugby Football League.
Professional clubs
The following is a list of professional and semi-professional clubs in the British rugby league system:
*''*capaci ...
saw them enter at
League 1. They spent one year in the British third division, and were promoted to the
Super League
Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
following winning the 2021
Million Pound Game
Million Pound Game (stylized as £1M Game) was an annual rugby league game that decides which Championship teams will be promoted to Super League, and which Super League teams would be relegated for the following season. Instituted in 2015 and ...
. They were relegated in 2022.
League 1
Toulouse Olympique
Toulouse Olympique or TO XIII is a professional rugby league club in Toulouse, south-west France. Founded in 1937, two years after the French Rugby League Federation, the club is a six-time winner of the French Rugby League Championship.
The clu ...
are the only French team to have competed in
League 1, having done so in 2016.
See also
*
Rugby league in France
Rugby league has been played in France since 1934. As with rugby union, rugby league was introduced by the English and the heartland of the game is in the south of France.
During the Second World War, in association with the French Rugby Federa ...
*
Australian rugby league system
*
British rugby league system
The British rugby league system is based on a five-tier structure administered by the Rugby Football League.
Professional clubs
The following is a list of professional and semi-professional clubs in the British rugby league system:
*''*capaci ...
*
France national rugby league team
The France national rugby league team represents France in international rugby league matches. They are referred to as ''les Chanticleers'' or less commonly as ''les Tricolores''. The team is run under the auspices of the French Rugby League Fed ...
*
France women's national rugby league team
The France women's national rugby league team, also known as the Chanticleers (for the Anglophone media) or locally as Les Tricolores, represents France in women's rugby league. They are administered by the French Rugby League Federation. On 7 ...
*
French Rugby League Championship
The French rugby league championship () was the top tier of the French rugby league system from its inception in 1934 until 2002 when the league was split into two divisions; the Elite One Championship and Elite Two Championship.
In all season ...
*
Lord Derby Cup
The Coupe de France Lord Derby (), or just Coupe Lord Derby ('Lord Derby Cup'), is the premier knockout competition for the sport of rugby league football in France, as well as the name of its championship trophy. The tournament was first conte ...
*
Coupe Falcou
The Albert Falcou Cup (), also called Albert Falcou French Cup (), is an annual knock-out competition organised by the Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII for amateur rugby league clubs in France.
History
The competition was introduced i ...
*
Paul Dejean Cup
References
External links
French Rugby League Federation
{{League systems
Rugby league in France
Rugby league systems