'Come & watch us': promoted York Knights appeal to Leeds Rhinos, Castleford Tigers & Wakefield Trinity fans
Promoted York Knights are hoping to attract fans of Leeds Rhinos, Castleford Tigers and Wakefield Trinity when they enter Super League next year.
York will play in the top-flight for the first time since 1985-86 after being chosen - along with Toulouse Olympique - to join the 12 highest-graded clubs in Betfred Super League for 2026. Knights were playing in front of three-figure crowds around a decade ago, but owner Clint Goodchild believes York is a “rugby league city” and hopes fans who usually travel to matches will now support their nearest club.
They are North Yorkshire’s lone professional club in the 13-a-side code and Goodchild said: “Over the last four years I've built good relationships with Hull KR, Castleford, Leeds, Wakefield and Hull FC. There’s over 2,000 season ticket holders at those clubs that live in a York postcode, at least. People want to see elite sport and they want to see the big brands. Now we’re playing on that level in their local area.”
Knights, a phoenix club founded in 2003 when the old York Wasps went bust, averaged crowds of close to 3,000 in the Championship this year, when they finished top of the table. Goodchild reckons they could sell out games in their 8,000 capacity Community Stadium next season.
More than 5,000 attended this month’s Grand Final, when Knights lost to Toulouse and he said promotion has sparked massive interest. “The city of York is buzzing,” he stated. “One of the bigger concerns is how many away fan tickets we're going to have to sell. York is an attractive place to come so we're going to have to be strategic to make sure we have enough home tickets.”