London could play host to more rugby league games after Super League general manager Blake Solly earmarked three events a year for the south east.

Solly stressed there was a market in the capital and its surrounding regions for “big rugby league events” despite the sport having its roots in the north of England.

Last year, Super League giants Wigan Warriors played against Catalan Dragons at Millwall’s New Den stadium in south-east London to a crowd of just over 8,000 – the biggest rugby league attendance in the capital for nine years – and Solly told BBC Radio Merseyside that the region would benefit from renewed focus.

“We’ve realised that we’ve got some great showpieces to take to London,” he said. “We know there’s a market in London and the south east for big rugby league events but we’ve got to serve them up.”

He said the Super League had targeted taking “three good rugby league events” to London and the south east every year for the next three years. “Next year we’ll have the Challenge Cup final and we’ll have a Four Nations game with England in it down there.”

The Challenge Cup, rugby league’s flagship domestic cup competition, is traditionally played at Wembley Stadium in north-west London. The 2015 Challenge Cup final between Leeds Rhinos and Hull Kingston Rovers attracted more than 80,000 fans.

London Broncos was the last team from the region to play in the Super League, but was relegated in 2014 with average gates of 1,300 spectators.