Super Rygbi Cymru competition launched by Welsh Rugby Union
Welsh rugby's new Elite Development Competition (EDC) will be branded as the Super Rygbi Cymru (SRC) trophy next season.
The 10-team tournament will move out of the community game in Wales to become aligned with the professional tier.
The competition is designed to bridge the gap for players moving between the academies and four professional regional teams.
The season will kick-off on the second weekend of September, with the clubs playing 18 home and away league fixtures in the regular season before progressing to play-off rounds and a grand final.
There will be breaks for the autumn internationals and Six Nations programmes, with two seven-match blocks held in September and October, November to January, before the final four regular matches and play-offs to be staged between the end of March and mid-May.
A separate competition called the Super Rygbi Cymru Cup will be scheduled during the 2025 Six Nations.
Each team will play a minimum of 23 fixtures over the course of the season with a further trophy available known as the SRC Challenger Shield.
Carmarthen Quins, Swansea, Ebbw Vale, Aberavon, Newport, Bridgend, Pontypool, Llandovery, RGC and Cardiff are the 10 teams involved, with established clubs such as Neath, Pontypridd and Merthyr not included.
The clubs have signed up to a salary-cap system that will enable them to spend up to £150,000 on a squad of 32 players, although there will be exceptions.
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) will be providing £105,000 to each club, who have to commit to match that sum in funding each season.
"The buy-in from the clubs has been fantastic and we've had many good meetings in the build-up to this launch, which we deliberately delayed to allow the final season of the Indigo Premiership to reach its conclusion," said WRU head of player development John Alder.
"The regions are on board and the new structure should raise standards all round.
"We've tried to be creative in our thinking about the design of the competition while keeping it aligned to the professional calendar.
"We want to ensure there is lots to play for, plenty of jeopardy, exciting local derbies, and each club will have at least 11 home games over the course of the season.
"We want Super Rygbi Cymru to be a breeding ground and finishing school for ambitious players to push them through into the regions, the United Rugby Championship (URC) and on to Wales."