The Hull owner, Adam Pearson, has said Super League clubs are set to approve some major changes in the coming months which will transform the sport’s mainstream profile in this country and allow it to compete properly with rugby union.

The 12 Super League clubs recently ratified changes to the competition’s board which led to the Rugby Football League’s chief executive, Nigel Wood, resigning as a director, with the 12 CEOs instead appointed as directors to allow them to have a more definitive say in the competition’s direction.

Pearson, speaking exclusively to the Guardian, believes extra power for the clubs will enable the sport to move forward. He said: “I think you’ll find that over the next three months there will be some significant changes to the game in this country. We’re no longer prepared to be accepted as a poor relation; we’re fed up of being downtrodden as a code just because we’re on the M62 compared to the M5.

“We need to start getting some due recognition and you’ll see some major changes in the coming months. We feel we can manage the sport in a more professional manner that appeals to more people and more sponsors. I think there’s a collective feeling in the sport that over the next six months with the way we’re going, we can become a real threat to rugby union in this country.”

While Pearson would not divulge information on the changes in closer detail, one such matter could be the approval of more fixtures being taken overseas. Hull are due to play Wigan in Wollongong in February, the first time a Super League game has been played outside Europe. The proposed New York franchise – who want to enter the RFL in 2019 – will also almost certainly host a Super League fixture in the US later this year if they enter.

When asked if their fixture could be the catalyst for more on-the-road games, Pearson said: “If it works, then very possibly. We’re meeting Toronto [Wolfpack] next week and, if they’re serious about coming into Super League and adding new broadcast rights and franchises, then we truly have a global game once the Americans get involved, too. The athletes in our sport are just as good as in union and someone will eventually catch on that inflated wages going into tighthead props that can play 30 minutes in the other code can be spent just as well in rugby league. Someone will wise up to it.”

As part of the sport’s expansion plans England are also hoping to play New Zealand in Denver this year and Pearson says that is a concept that Hull support. “Yes, certainly. We think that to get into a North American market for the sport is well worth a go, so let’s have a look. Why not? It will be an interesting proposition but we need the help of the NRL.”

The RFL is welcoming applications to become the sport’s new chief executive in this country after the announcement that Wood would leave this month. He is expected to become the new head of the Rugby League International Federation, with a number of high-profile names linked as his replacement including the Everton CEO, Rob Elstone.

Elstone was a member of the board at the Super League side Castleford before moving into football, though it is unclear whether he would be interested in returning to league. The former Super League general manager Blake Solly is unlikely to apply. Solly is understood to be settled in his role as the chief executive of the NRL club South Sydney.