Barrow Raiders are set to find out if they will be a Championship club next season.

The Rugby Football League (RFL) confirmed yesterday that they will announce the promoted club at 2pm this Thursday.

Five clubs from League 1 have applied to join the Championship.

This includes Barrow Raiders, Doncaster, Newcastle Thunder, Rochdale Hornets and Workington Town.

The Mail:

Former RFL President Air Commodore Dean Andrew OBE, has chaired a five-strong panel.

The panel will complete its assessment of applications this week.

Each application has been judged against certain criteria.

The criteria listed requires the new club to enhance the value of the Championship to broadcast and sponsorship partners.

In addition to this, the new side will have to deliver value to other Championship members and provide competition in the division.

Furthermore, ensuring that the club will be sustainable beyond the 2021 season and deliver the goals set out in the RFL’s Strategy Reset document is also required.

Panel chair, Dean Andrew OBE, says: “We have adopted a process similar to the one for deciding which Betfred Championship club will play in Super League in 2021 and we have been very impressed by the quality and honesty of the submissions.

“I’d like to thank all five clubs for engaging so enthusiastically with this process in such a relatively short space of time.

“All five applications reflect well on the business acumen, enthusiasm, ambition and realism that exists in League 1.

The Mail:

“One club will be a fabulous addition to the Betfred Championship; the other four are already raising the bar on what will be a very competitive League 1 next season.”

A vacancy in the division is open following Toronto Wolfpack’s expulsion from the Super League last month.

The promoted club to the Super League will be announced by the RFL next week.