A Super League club is set to lose its licence to participate in the competition, following the Rugby Football League (RFL) decision to "promote" a club from outside the division in 2012.

The national governing body has announced that one of the clubs competing in the Co-operative Championship will be awarded a three-year licence if it is able to conform to minimum criteria. Championship clubs looking to apply for the Super League licence must have reached the league's grand final stage, or have won the Northern Rail Cup, in either 2009 or 2010.

Applicants will also have to demonstrate to the RFL that they have not entered insolvency in the past three years; that home stadiums will have a capacity of at least 10,000; and that they have had a turnover of £1m in 2009 or 2010. The RFL is now inviting Championship clubs to submit their applications by December, although unsuccessful bidders will have the chance to reapply alongside the 14 existing Super League teams by April 2011.

An RFL spokesperson said: "The decision to effectively promote at least one Championship club means that, with Super League staying at 14 teams, one current side will be displaced."