Unlike its North American counterparts, the Superleague was not divided into conferences; teams competed in a single division.
The Ice Hockey Superleague Ltd was established on 1 November 1995 and held its first season in 1996-97 with eight founding clubs – Ayr Scottish Eagles, Basingstoke Bison, Bracknell Bees, Cardiff Devils, Manchester Storm, Newcastle Cobras, Nottingham Panthers, and Sheffield Steelers.
[2] After the regular season was complete, the teams would be entered into the play-offs, the winner of which won the British Championship.
[3] The Superleague was governed by a board of directors who were the owners of the participating teams with Martin Weddell as chairman.
[7][8] Then, Manchester Storm and Scottish Eagles both folded within a week of one another during the early stages of the 2002-03 season, leaving just five teams remaining.
[9] To make matters worse, in December 2002 Bracknell Bees announced their intention to resign from the league to join the BNL at the end of the season, and uncertainty arose surrounding the future of London Knights and their London Arena home at this time; which ultimately led to the Knights folding in 2003.
Owing a large debt to Ice Hockey UK and facing the prospect of having only three member clubs, the Superleague placed itself into liquidation on 30 April 2003.
[10] The Elite Ice Hockey League was formed by the remaining three clubs (Belfast Giants, Nottingham Panthers, and Sheffield Steelers) and played their first season on 12 September 2003.