The world’s oldest league squash competition has been revived with a dose of Friday night lights.
The Optasia Squash Super League will feature six teams playing on a best-of-three format, which will also be broadcast free by SquashTV. The league will start on Nov 15 and runs through until May.
With six elite teams representing clubs from across England – the Bexley Ballers, Bristol Buccaneers, Chichester Centurions, Coolhurst Cavaliers, Leamington Royals and St George’s Hill Knights - the league will showcase stars from the world’s top 10.
It had been reported that there would be 16 teams competing, including representatives from England and Wales, after the Premier Squash League was postponed in late 2023 when only four teams signed up to the roster.
Each six-strong team (with four competing) in the revitalised league is slated to feature one top male and female, ranked in the top 25, one reserve male and female pro, an under 23 player and a ‘club legend’, who will be an amateur or retired player, with a specific Squash Levels rating at approx 20,000. It has also been reported that there would be equal pay match fees from first to number four string.
Joey Barrington, England Squash Membership and Commercial Partnerships Manager, said: “We’re thrilled to re-establish a new national-level league within England which marks a pivotal moment for team squash.
“This fresh and innovative approach to national-level club squash engages every level of the game and provides the perfect blend of local club talent, upcoming stars and world-class pros, culminating in a world-class spectacle that promises to thrill fans and players alike.”
The new Friday format has been set to avoid clashes with other successful club leagues in the north of England.
‘A shop window’ – Barrington
Before the launch, Joey Barrington had revealed plans to Squash Player Magazine for the revitalised league.
“We have to realise that the top level league is really the shop window for elite level squash in this country – and by that I mean the United Kingdom not just England,” England Squash’s Joey Barrington told Squash Player.
“When I was coming up as a young pro, the then Super League was huge. The exposure of young players to talented domestic and international competition was vital in their ability to progress and move up the ladder.
“We are currently in an era where, post the likes of Nick Matthew and James Willstrop, English squash is arguably in one of it’s most barren spells with no English-born male players inside the world’s top 20.
“The likes of Gina Kennedy are showcasing the way for the girls, but we need more players at that top level and I think that starts at home with growing the league scene and building upwards from there.”