Due to the merging of the third tier
League One with the Championship into one competition, the Championship increased from 13 clubs to 21 for the 2026 season.. The clubs joining the Championship from League One are: •
Dewsbury Rams •
Goole Vikings •
Keighley Cougars •
Midlands Hurricanes •
Newcastle Thunder •
North Wales Crusaders •
Rochdale Hornets •
Swinton Lions •
Whitehaven •
Workington Town If the two divisions had not been merged, North Wales would have been promoted to the Championship anyway as winners of the
2025 RFL League One season. On 16 October 2025 the
Bradford Bulls were to be promoted to the
Super League and were replaced by the
Salford Red Devils. Salford were relegated from Super League via the
IMG grading system, as was Bradford's elevation. The following day the two teams joining the Super League as a result of its expansion to 14 teams were announced.
Toulouse Olympique and the
York Knights were promoted via an independent panel. On 3 December 2025, Salford was liquidated as a result of unpaid debts to
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and as a result had their membership with the RFL terminated, and would no longer compete in the Championship. The RFL hoped that a
phoenix club could be created to contest the fixtures, with Salford having until 11 December to submit a viable proposal with a decision scheduled for 17 December. On 17 December, the timeline was extended. On 22 December, a phoenix club was approved to complete in the 2026 Championship.
Featherstone Rovers went into administration in December 2025 and as no satisfactory bid to take over the club emerged by the week before the start of the season, the RFL removed the club from the 2026 season. Further complications arose when
Halifax Panthers were wound-up following non-payment of monies due to HMRC on 9 February 2026. The Panthers' membership of the RFL, and therefore the club's permission to participate in the Championship, was withdrawn on 11 February. On 3 March, the RFL granted membership to a new Halifax Panthers club who re-joined the Championship with a 12-point deduction.
North Wales Crusaders were the next team to hit difficulties as the owners withdrew further funding on 9 April. The club's game against
Keighley Cougars took place but only because two Crusaders' fans paid the players' wages. The subsequent 1895 Cup game against
Midlands Hurricanes was forfeited by the Crusaders and the next scheduled league game against
Doncaster was postponed on 27 April after many players left the club. On 6 May, the RFL terminated the Crusaders' membership due to an insolvency event. The following day, the RFL announced that it had approved membership of a new ownership group for the remainder of the 2026 season. The club also received a 12-point deduction. ==Fixtures format==