YORK City Knights face the consolation prize of a return to the south of France next year if they don't win promotion to the Championship this season - while a trip to Canada could follow a year later.

Rugby Football League chiefs are restructuring Kingstone Press League One next term to introduce a Super 8s-style format to match those in the top two tiers.

And in addition, they are poised to reintroduce Toulouse Olympique into the British domestic game, placing them in the third tier, which is already the most geographically diverse competition in the sport. The Frenchmen previously competed in the Championship between 2008 and 2011 - with York, promoted to that tier in 2010, enjoying a memorable win in the south of France the following year.

Should Toulouse agree to the conditions of their entry - and discussions are said to be close to completion - then League One will become a 15-team competition.

It could rise to 16 a year later with the somewhat bizarre prospect of a Toronto club joining the ranks. The RFL said in a statement that it "remains in dialogue with a Canadian consortium looking to enter a team from 2017 onwards and continues to carry out due diligence with all interested parties".

The 2016 season will see League One follow a similar format to that in Super League and Championship this year, with the 15 clubs splitting into two pools part-way through the campaign.

The 15 clubs will play each other once before dividing into a League One Super 8 and a seven-team League One Shield.

In the Super 8, teams play each other once, with the top four teams having four home fixtures and the bottom four having three home fixtures.

The promotion play-offs then follow, copying this season's format: first will play second in the League One "promotion final", with the winners promoted and the losers going into play-off semi-finals in which they host the fifth-placed team while second plays third. The winners of those two ties meet in the play-off final for the second promotion place.

In the League One Shield, the teams will play each other once before first and second meet in the final.

The 2016 season will again start with the iPro Sport Cup, with the first round draw made from two pools based on a geographical split. As in 2015, the 14 UK-based League One clubs will be joined by two community clubs in the first round.

Should Toulouse not enter League One in 2016, an alternative format will be introduced, details of which are being discussed with the clubs.

RFL chief executive Nigel Wood believes the new structure is a natural evolution of the format that was brought into Super League and the Championship with the aim of making promotion and relegation feasible between full-time and part-time tiers.

“The new structure brings an exciting edge to Kingstone Press League One that will see every minute matter for every club, just as we are seeing in Super League and the Championship this summer,” said Wood.

“I would like to thank the clubs for their positive contribution to the consultation process that has led to them embracing the new structure and giving it their unanimous support.

“We are thrilled by the prospect of the return of Toulouse Olympique to a competition which has already blazing trails across the UK. I am sure they will receive a warm welcome from all the League One clubs.

“Just as Catalans Dragons have enhanced Super League, Toulouse would bring much to League One as it continues to fulfil its role as an incubator competition for aspirational clubs.”