The new engage Super League season was officially launched from the 29th floor of Millbank Tower in Central London yesterday. The vista was breathtaking, but the competition’s horizons may be shrinking.

Support appears to be growing among clubs for a reduction in their number from 14 to 12 for the second generation of Super League licenceholders from 2012.

In warning clubs that they have only this season left to fulfil the entry criteria, Nigel Wood, the RFL chief executive, said that the composition of the competition, which was expanded to 14 clubs with the admission of Celtic Crusaders and Salford City Reds in the first round of three-year licences, would be an “area for significant discussion among the game’s stakeholders”.

The embattled Crusaders have abandoned Bridgend after one year and are under new ownership in Wrexham, more than 150 miles away, where they kick off the season on Friday against Leeds Rhinos at the Racecourse Ground. The expanded league was widely viewed as having led to a reduction in playing standards last season and Brian Noble, the Crusaders coach, admitted that they have struggled to put together a squad.

Especially with a new television contract to be negotiated from 2012 — Sky Sports’ existing deal expires after next year — there may be little stomach among established clubs for a bloated league, supporting more than Catalans Dragons and Harlequins beyond the game’s traditional northern perimeters.

Wood’s warning, though, has put several clubs on notice, includingSalford, Wakefield Wildcats and Castleford Tigers, each of whom have proposals to move out of outdated grounds, but have still to bring plans to fruition. A club with St Helens’s reputation could also be looking nervously over their shoulders, although they remain committed to leaving their dilapidated Knowsley Road stadium by the end of the forthcoming season.

Whatever the size of the league, the RFL remains committed to one club being promoted from the lower division in 2012 from a shortlist of those who have won the Northern Rail Cup or reached the Championship Grand Final since the last licence round. So far, this includes Widnes Vikings, who were among the clubs who lost out to the Crusaders last time, Halifax and Barrow.

“Once this season’s Championship grand finalists are known in September, we’ll have our completed list of Super League licence applicants,” Wood said. “Clubs will then have a few months to put the finishing touches to their business plans.

“2010 is the year when we’ll start to shape the competition for 2012. The length of the season and size of the competition are all issues that will be worked through after consultation with all stakeholders. Some of the clubs have got their act together already.”

Engage Mutual Assurance has exercised a one-year option to continue its Super League sponsorship for a seventh year in 2011, which Wood said reflected the competition’s continuing appeal.

Crusaders suffered a further blow when Ben Flower, the Wales captain, was ruled out of the Leeds match with a toe injury suffered in training, leaving Noble, who has had two months to rebuild the squad, possibly having to turn to the youngsters who filled in towards the end of 2009.

“Whether we’re ready or not, we’re playing a match on Friday,” he said. “Obviously, I’ve alluded to the fact that we needed more preparation time and a few more players, and perhaps we would have been ready. But we haven’t got those things. We start on Friday. We’re looking forward to it. The players will be very motivated.”