Bradford call for RFL decision on SL future

James Gordon

Bradford’s acting chairman Stephen Coulby has called for the RFL to make a decision on the club’s Super League future.

The Bulls remain in administration after a number of offers to buy the club from the ABC consortium were rebuffed by the governing body, who have refused to give assurances in relation to conditions set out by the bid.

They are believed to relate to a guarantee that the club will retain its Super League licence for the 2013 season and beyond.

Coulby said: “The ABC consortium, comprising a group of Bradford businessmen, have been trying for over three weeks now to satisfy the supposed  demands of the RFL without knowing exactly what those demands are and the second syndicate, which has now put a bid in place, is faced with the same problem. These people are new to the sport and without any doubt are totally blameless for the present state of the business. 

“They wish to invest substantial monies into the club at a time when the sport is struggling to attract new investors but, instead of being welcomed, they find it totally impossible to establish what exactly they would be purchasing.

“Their intention has never been to “hold a gun” to the head of the RFL, but merely to put a sustainable business plan in place which, in their opinion, would require Super League membership through to the end of the present franchise period, at  which time the licence would be reassessed.

“The RFL are now aware of the full facts which resulted in the club entering into administration, including a number of matters which have only recently come to light. For whatever reason these were not looked into when the RFL entered into discussions with the club in June 2011 to purchase the lease of the stadium, and when awarding a “B” licence to the club one month later when it granted franchises for a further three year period. Having now received that information and having consulted over three weeks ago with the other Super League clubs, surely some decision should now be forthcoming, whatever that decision might be.

“If the club is at best to be a Championship club for a period of at least two years please let any prospective purchasers know this, so that they can decide whether to proceed with their interest and plan accordingly.”

Bradford will see out the remainder of this season, thanks to an advanced payment from the RFL to ensure player wages are met.

It was also revealed this week that the RFL will fund the Bulls’ trip to France, for their Super League fixture against Catalan this month.