Fresh Featherstone Rovers update as deadline for new owners for 2027 confirmed

Anyone wishing to own Featherstone Rovers and launch a new club to take part in the Championship season in 2027 have another eight months to put together a package, it seems.

Rovers were told by the Rugby Football League on the eve of the new season that they would not be able to compete, after a prospective ownership group seeking to take the club out of administration were not granted a playing licence for the 2026 campaign.

That group was understood to have involved figures from the previous ownership group that were in charge in recent years, leading to a season beginning without Featherstone being involved for the first time in over 100 years.

Love Rugby League has already revealed that former coach Paul Cooke is interested in putting together a consortium that would relaunch rugby league in the town, with a view to putting a team together to take to the field in 2027.

There had been suggestions a team could enter the Championship mid-season but that will now not happen, after the RFL inserted replacement fixtures for the teams that were due to play Rovers in 2026.

But now, the club have posted on social media revealing that the window for expressions to take the club on are to continue over the summer months and beyond.

Furthermore, Rovers’ social media post insisted they were ‘very confident’ that Featherstone would return in some form in 2027 and would take to the field once again. However, Cooke’s consortium have not yet submitted a bid to the RFL, with interest building in potential partners to support them.