{"id":3796,"date":"2025-12-03T10:51:44","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T10:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/speedwayhub.com\/?p=3796"},"modified":"2025-12-03T10:51:44","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T10:51:44","slug":"the-leicester-lions-set-sights-on-2026-premiership-return-as-club-issues-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/speedwayhub.com\/the-leicester-lions-set-sights-on-2026-premiership-return-as-club-issues-update\/","title":{"rendered":"The Leicester Lions set sights on 2026 Premiership return as Club Issues Update"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Leicester Speedway have moved to reassure supporters about their intentions for the 2026 season, confirming their full commitment to remaining in the Sports Insure Premiership.<\/p>\n<p>The update, issued via the Leicester Speedway website, outlines the club\u2019s current position as the sport waits for the delayed British Speedway AGM to reconvene and finalise next year\u2019s regulations.<\/p>\n<p>Despite uncertainty elsewhere in the league \u2014 including the sad closures and restructures involving Birmingham and Oxford, plus ongoing ownership questions at Ipswich and Sheffield \u2014 the Watling JCB Lions insist their focus remains sharp after consecutive Grand Final appearances and a memorable KO Cup triumph in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Co-promoter and team manager Stewart Dickson made clear that the Lions are pushing ahead with their winter preparations. Speaking to the Leicester Speedway website, he said:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI can only speak from a Leicester perspective, but obviously I know our fans are keen to hear what\u2019s happening, and we hope things can be finalised soon.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Dickson confirmed that planning for team building is already under way amid ongoing discussions with fellow top-flight promoters.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWe are having regular Zoom calls with the other Premiership clubs, and there is very much a will to continue with this league,\u201d<\/em> he said.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cLeicester are committed to the Premiership, along with the other clubs which remain from last season, and obviously we\u2019re hopeful of satisfactory outcomes at Ipswich and Sheffield, hopefully the sooner the better for all concerned.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-4991349668748061\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-4991349668748061\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"6376928783\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n\n<p>While acknowledging that time is ticking toward the start of the 2026 campaign, Dickson believes Leicester are well positioned to move swiftly once league structures are formally agreed.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWe still envisage there will be a Premiership next season although we do recognise time is moving on, and ideally we\u2019d like to have our team finalised and announced, and to be getting season tickets on sale by now,\u201d he noted.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWhat I can say is that we do know what the likely structure will be in terms of team building, and therefore tentative talks have been taking place with riders.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Encouragingly for fans, rider interest in joining the Lions remains strong.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThere are plenty of riders who have expressed a desire to be with Leicester next season, and I\u2019m very confident we will be able to put a competitive side together once again,\u201d<\/em> Dickson added.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cSo at the moment, and on behalf of myself, Paul (Cairns) and Jen (Crossland), we thank everyone for their patience and we hope to have some more news in the near future.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>With clarity expected once the British Speedway AGM is rescheduled, Leicester supporters can take heart in the club\u2019s determination to build a new side capable of another Premiership title challenge.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Feature Image courtesy of British Speedway<\/strong><\/p>\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-4991349668748061\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-4991349668748061\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"6376928783\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Leicester Speedway have moved to reassure supporters about their intentions for the 2026 season, confirming their full commitment to remaining in the Sports Insure Premiership. The update, issued via the Leicester Speedway website, outlines the club\u2019s current position as the sport waits for the delayed British Speedway AGM to reconvene and finalise next year\u2019s regulations. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3797,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,4,52],"tags":[8,11,16,9,90],"class_list":["post-3796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-british-speedway","category-speedway","category-the-premiership","tag-british-speedway","tag-leicester-lions","tag-premiership","tag-speedway","tag-the-premiership"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Leicester Lions set sights on 2026 Premiership return as Club Issues Update - Speedway Hub UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/speedwayhub.com\/the-leicester-lions-set-sights-on-2026-premiership-return-as-club-issues-update\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Leicester Lions set sights on 2026 Premiership return as Club Issues Update - Speedway Hub UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Leicester Speedway have moved to reassure supporters about their intentions for the 2026 season, confirming their full commitment to remaining in the Sports Insure Premiership. The update, issued via the Leicester Speedway website, outlines the club\u2019s current position as the sport waits for the delayed British Speedway AGM to reconvene and finalise next year\u2019s regulations. 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