Super League’s Magic Weekend in doubt as Rugby Football League’s Super League expansion causes a reshuffle of fixture dates and the popular event may be no more following its introduction
The future of Super League’s Magic Weekend is under threat.
The future of Magic Weekend hangs in the balance ahead of the new season, with its chances of survival looking increasingly slim.
Super League’s big weekend away has been a hit with fans, but with two new teams joining the competition, it seems likely to be scrapped.
While no final decision has been made, it’s clear that the odds of it featuring in next year’s calendar are dwindling.
We now know that the Super League season kicks off on the weekend of 14th/15th February, with the Grand Final scheduled a week earlier than usual on Saturday, 3rd October, to make way for the World Cup at the end of the year.
This means the season must be wrapped up in 33 weekends. If you do the maths, 26 regular rounds and three Challenge Cup weekends (the fourth is before the season starts), brings us to 29 weekends.
This leaves four weekends and we know there is a push to bring back an eight-team play-off system, which requires four weekends to complete.
In essence, if the expanded play-off series gets the green light, there will be no room in the calendar for Magic.
Even if Magic were to go ahead, the when and where would still be uncertain. Newcastle United are playing at home on the bank holiday weekend Super League have been keen to host the event, meaning they would either have to change location or the date.
All Out Rugby League has learned that Sunderland’s Stadium of Light and Cardiff’s Principality Stadium have expressed interest in hosting the event, should it go ahead. However, the likelihood of these discussions being necessary now seems slim.
The news, although not entirely surprising, will be a harsh blow to fans. This year’s event saw an attendance of 64,156, marking the highest turnout since 2018.