THE group aiming to take Featherstone Rovers out of administration and have a team ready for the start of the Championship season in less than three weeks’ time say they are in an ongoing dialogue with the Rugby Football League.
Former long-serving Rovers Chairman Mark Campbell along with Colm Corran and Chris Hamilton, a director and chief executive respectively of the previous version of the club, are working to get a new operation up and running.
And Hamilton, the former Oldham owner and Chairman, who was part of a consortium that relaunched that club after the original folded in 1997, says all parties concerned are aware of the tight timescale.
With Featherstone’s first scheduled match at Batley Bulldogs a fortnight on Sunday (January 18), League Express understands the three-strong group, who were the only party to meet the RFL-set December 19 deadline for submissions of interest, have a coach and a number of players lined up.
They are also confident of continued use of the Millennium Stadium, which has hosted matches since Featherstone Rovers first appeared in the professional ranks for the 1921-22 season.
But securing membership of the RFL, who will insist all rugby-related debts are met in full and could impose a points deduction due to the club going into administration, is the key to activating contracts and so moving forward.
The old club applied to go into administration, with its directors admitting there was no way out of their financial problems due to the level of debt accumulated, and that move was sanctioned by the court on December 15.
The court at the same time dismissed an HMRC winding-up petition, which was the previous week adjourned for a second time.
That was over a reported £120,000 tax bill, but it is thought the club’s total debt was far more.
Andrew Rosler, insolvency practitioner of Ideal Corporate Solutions Limited, was appointed administrator, managing the business, affairs and assets of the company, and said: “One of the principle aims is to safeguard the future of the club and ensure it can compete in the Championship in the forthcoming season.”
Former Featherstone player Campbell returned to the helm after Paddy Handley stepped down as Chairman in September, having replaced Campbell in August 2024.
Hamilton, who was previously the head of operations at Widnes Vikings, was brought in by Rovers as chief executive at the start of November.
Campbell and Hamilton were listed as the two members of a company called Rovers 2026 Ltd, which was incorporated on November 17. Hamilton is the company secretary.