National League expands for 2025

BRITISH Speedway’s National Development League structure will expand in 2025 to feature more clubs and more track time for the sport’s young riders.

All six competing teams from this year will return, whilst with five more clubs entering the NDL system, a new National Trophy competition has been formed.

The two competitions will have the same points limit and regulations, but they will run as separate entities.

And therefore it will be possible for riders to sign both for a club in the NDL and also a club in the National Trophy – therefore maximising their track time and almost doubling their meetings at this level compared with 2024.

The points limit for both competitions has been set at 38, and both will be settled on a league-only basis of one home and one away match against each opponent, with the league leaders declared champions.

The clubs in the two competitions are:

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE: Belle Vue, Edinburgh, Leicester, Middlesbrough, Oxford, Scunthorpe/Sheffield.

NATIONAL TROPHY: Birmingham, Kent Eagles, King’s Lynn (subject to confirmation), Plymouth, Workington.

British Speedway chairman Rob Godfrey said: “The National League really came back to life last season, so it’s great to have all six clubs back for that but also now to be able to introduce the additional National Trophy group.

“That group will utilise largely the same riders as the NDL which means they will get maximum track time between the two groups, and also more experience on different circuits.

“If you look at it from a rider’s point of view, they will have a home track in the NDL and all the away tracks in that league, and then if they’re in the National Trophy they will have another home track there along with four more different away tracks to visit.

“There’s no replication between the two groups, so really it’s fast-track experience for the riders and they’re going to be much busier next year compared to this, when we do appreciate there were some big gaps for them.

“We’re also delighted to have a Southern based club coming back with Kent competing in the Trophy, and we welcome them into the competition.

“Everyone is doing this for the right reasons, and we’ve now created more meetings for the Youth and developing riders to participate in, and with the majority of our tracks involved, so we see this as very positive all-round.”