The Rugby Football League's tennis-loving chairman Richard Lewis blurted this crucial fact out on national radio on Tuesday afternoon, very generously providing the general public with the information before the 19 top flight aspirants had been officially notified.
For me, that just about sums up what is looking increasingly like a Red Hall carve up.
Think a 13-a-side version of Eurovision and you won't go far wrong.
But at least it ends the uncertainty over just how many teams would be playing in Super League next year and beyond, after the most recent batch of rumours had anywhere between 12 and 15 sides included at the top level.
The big question now is which clubs will get the nod?
Firstly, it is difficult to see any of the current 12 not getting a licence, despite the ramshackle grounds of some contenders - step forward Wheldon Road and Belle Vue - showing no concrete signs, pardon the pun, of significant redevelopment or replacement.
That leaves two spots, one of which will surely go to Widnes, who, despite their flirtation with financial oblivion last autumn, have the stadium, the junior set up and, most importantly of all, the money to back up their case.
Visiting the Stobart Stadium a couple of weeks ago, you could almost smell the cash that transport mogul Steve O'Connor has lavished on getting the Vikings back where he thinks they belong.
And, as they say, money talks.
That would leave one more place to be squabbled over by the rest, with Celtic Crusaders and Salford leading the way ahead of Halifax, who, despite on-field form and massive recent advancement off it, are a much better bet for the next round in 2011.
The rest - Leigh, Toulouse, Featherstone - have no chance.
My views on Celtic are well known - a millionaire backer and a bunch of itinerant Aussies playing in front of one man and a sheepdog do not a Super League side make - while the Reds, despite chairman John Wilkinson's apparently tireless financial support and the promise of a sparkling new ground at some point in the next few years, are likely to be hampered by the Willows.
Ultimately, both these clubs - and their chairmen - have spent massive money in an attempt to win a licence, but one is going to miss out when the results are announced next month.
I certainly wouldn't like to be the loser's accountant.

• HALIFAX coach Matt Calland told me this week that rugby league is now a

young man's game.
In Calland's case, he was talking about his acquisition of a trio of 20-year-olds, Thomas Coyle, Mark Flanagan and Joe Walsh.
But it seems his view has been taken to extremes by his former teammate, and fellow graduate of the Brian Smith academy of coaching excellence, Brian McDermott.
The former Bradford prop is fashioning a thrilling team at Harlequins, and watched homegrown wingman Will Sharp grab a second half try as Leeds were dispatched in front of the TV cameras on Saturday night.
Sharp certainly looked sprightly as he raced on to Scott Hill's grubber kick.
And it's hardly a surprise when, according to Sky's graphics, he is a mere eight years old. Watch it again, it's true.
Just imagine how good he'll be when he starts secondary school.