IF York City Knights do not win promotion this year, they will be off to Canada next season.

The Rugby Football League has today confirmed that Toronto Wolfpack will join Kingstone Press League One in 2017 - the newly-formed club having already recruited a backroom team which includes former Great Britain, Bradford and Wigan boss Brian Noble, ex-Leigh coach Paul Rowley and Adam Fogerty, the former St Helens and Halifax player.

The RFL see it as "an exciting first for British sport", giving rugby league a trans-Atlantic flavour with the entry of a club who have "ambitious plans to develop their brand and the sport across North America".

Toronto have also been invited to participate in the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup in 2017 - quickly given odds of 300-1 to win it.

“It is with great pleasure that I can confirm Toronto Wolfpack’s entry into Kingstone Press League One next season,” said RFL chief executive Nigel Wood.

“We have worked closely with the Canadian club’s officials and investors in the last few years and have no doubts that Toronto Wolfpack will enhance a competition which has already established a reputation for welcoming new clubs.

“Rugby league has always had a pioneering philosophy throughout its history and this initiative offers further evidence of the sport’s wide appeal and readiness to embrace innovation.

“We are looking forward to working with Toronto Wolfpack, who will join us with the unanimous support of our member clubs.”

Toronto will play home and away fixtures in four or five-match blocks, staying in residential accommodation while in the UK and flying out other teams at their expense for home matches at Lamport Stadium in the Liberty Village area of downtown Toronto.

Visiting teams to Lamport Stadium, which is known as The Den, will fly out on a Thursday, play on Saturday and return to Europe on Sunday.

The Wolfpack's player recruitment drive this summer, when they will look to sign talent from sports clubs across North America, will be the subject of a reality television series called Last Tackle.

The club was launched today at a gala presentation in Toronto attended by the city’s mayor, John Tory.

Wolfpack chief executive Eric Perez spelled out his ambitions for rugby league in Canada, saying: "Sports fans have long waited for a trans-Atlantic major league team and we’re proud to be the first with the launch of our club, the Toronto Wolfpack.

“With 220 million global participants across all codes of rugby playing the sport, the RFL’s decision to expand its competition across the pond becomes obvious and it makes me very proud as a born and raised Torontonian that the RFL has selected our city as the beach head in North America.”

Kingstone Press League One also welcomed French team Toulouse Olympique this season and, in the last five years has seen pro rugby league become more geographically diverse than ever, with the likes of expansion clubs Oxford, Hemel, Coventry and Gloucestershire All Golds now involved.

The entry of Toronto has been welcomed by League One sponsors Kingstone Press, whose marketing controller Justin Way said: “It adds an exciting new dimension to the competition and demonstrates how open the rugby league family are to innovation and taking the sport to new audiences.

"We look forward to the Wolfpack being able to sample some Kingstone Press cider refreshment on their travels to the UK and we’ll endeavour to make it available for their fans to enjoy in The Den."