Newcastle could soon have a new professional sporting team to support, with the city confirmed as one of eight foundation markets for Australia’s newly launched Surfing Super League.

The competition is targeting its inaugural season for the summer of 2028 and will feature eight regional franchises competing in a fast paced, team based format designed specifically for live television. Newcastle is set to line up alongside the Sunshine Coast, Northern Rivers, two Gold Coast teams, Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Sydney’s South and Melbourne.

The Surfing Super League is aiming to do something Australian professional surfing has never done before. The idea to create a domestic, franchise based competition with regional teams, regular matches and a premiership.

Each franchise will have a squad of six surfers. From the six surfers four athletes compete in each match three men and one woman. Matches will run for a fixed 90 minutes, featuring two 40 minute halves and a 10 minute halftime break.

Four teams will compete in each game, with surfers rotating in a relay style format. Every wave contributes to the team score, while a designated Power Surfer will have an important scoring role at the end of each half.

The goal is to remove some of the unpredictability associated with traditional surfing events and create a format that fits into a scheduled live broadcast window.

For Newcastle, the announcement could represent a major new chapter in the city’s sporting landscape.

The Surfing Super League has listed Newcastle as one of its eight planned team markets, although the franchise name, branding, ownership and final player roster are yet to be revealed.

The league’s official plans include an eight week summer season across Australia’s east coast, with teams competing for a place in the inaugural grand final.

Newcastle’s place in the competition is particularly interesting given the city’s strong surfing culture and its long-standing connection to major surfing events.

One of the league’s biggest talking points is its proposed player payment model.

Reports on the launch state that all 48 contracted surfers, six per franchise will receive $89,000 for the eight week season, with equal pay regardless of gender or player tier.

The squads are expected to include a mix of Australian surfing legends, elite competitive surfers, wildcard or international talent and free surfers.

Championship Tour surfers, however, are currently expected to be excluded from the competition.

The league believes guaranteed contracts could provide a valuable pathway for Australian surfers who are currently required to fund expensive travel while competing through the lower levels of the international surfing system.

The Surfing Super League has already attracted attention from some of the biggest names in Australian surfing.

Former world champions Layne Beachley and Joel Parkinson, along with Olympic medallist and former World Tour surfer Owen Wright, have been linked to potential involvement in the new competition. Wright has publicly expressed interest in returning to competitive surfing through the league.

Whether any of those names eventually represent Newcastle remains unknown.

With team names, ownership groups and final rosters still to be announced, there is plenty yet to be decided before the first event takes place.

The concept will feature eight teams, 15 live games across eight weekends and a grand final, with each match designed to fit into a fixed 90-minute broadcast window.

There is still a long way to go before the inaugural season, and plenty can change before 2028.

But one thing is clear: Newcastle is firmly part of the Surfing Super League’s plans.

If the competition delivers on its ambitious vision, the city could soon have another team and an entirely new sporting rivalry to get behind.