Championship winners Jersey Reds went into liquidation in September leaving an 11-team competition.

They followed Premiership clubs Wasps, Worcester and London Irish, who all folded last season.

Earlier this year Cornish Pirates said they were not able to bring in new investment due to the ongoing uncertainty over the future of the second tier.

All the club's players have a break clause in their contracts at the end of 2024 should sufficient funding not be available for the second half of next season.

Championship clubs have had their central funding from the RFU cut from 645,000 in 2019 to 150,000 in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

They claim the current proposals will share 4m between the second-tier clubs in comparison to 33m between the 10 Premiership clubs.

"We understand and support the need to stabilise the top tier of the game, but our clubs must properly be part of the structure," the statement added.

"We have supplied a pathway for 200 players many of whom are now household names (as well as numerous coaches, referees and administrators) to the very top of the game.

"That pathway must not be lost, because it underpins the game."

The statement continued: "The only route to that stability and sustainability is for the whole game to move forward together.

"The PGP (Professional Game Partnership) is about the next eight years at a time when the game globally and nationally is changing rapidly, so this is a pivotal moment.

"If there are not changes now, it will be too late."