Ex-coach vows support to potential owners as RFL chief says 'no doubt' Featherstone Rovers will return
Former coach Paul Cooke is backing efforts to save Featherstone Rovers.
Cooke was in charge of Featherstone last season and has been left “heartbroken” by the club’s exclusion from the upcoming Betfred Championship, which kicks off this weekend. Rovers were placed in administration in December. In a shock statement last week, the sport’s governing body confirmed “the one submission received to take ownership of the club has not met the required governance criteria” and RFL membership had been denied.
Expanding on that during a media briefing at today’s (Monday) Championship launch in Wakefield, RFL interim-chief executive Abi Ekoku revealed close links between the potential new owners and former club management were the crucial factor. He said: “One [interested party] applied. They were the former directors of the old company, so that presents a challenge.
“There wasn't enough separation between the old company and the new company. It’s not about one set of owners, it’s about the operational standards we accept as a game. That’s the reason it couldn’t be approved."
However, Ekoku insisted he has “no doubt at all” Rovers will feature in the Championship in 2027 and he added: “There have been parties interested in wanting to take up the Featherstone membership for next season. Two of them are serious, for sure. Their first port of call has to be with the administrators so they know what they’re buying into and what they’re seeking to acquire.”
Now Cooke has stepped forward to pledge his support for the club’s potential new start. In a statement, he said: “While the news of Featherstone Rovers demise and not competing in this forthcoming season is heartbreaking, on the other hand I believe it offers an opportunity for new investment with fresh ideas and offers an opportunity for the club to be rebuilt on solid foundations. A new beginning which has genuine people within the organisation can and will help the rebirth of Featherstone Rovers.”
Cooke added: “I have been guided throughout the last few horrendous months of uncertainty by my legal counsel Richard Cramer, who has a wealth of experience working in rugby league since 1994. Both Richard and myself would be able to provide any assistance to a newly-formed Featherstone Rovers.
“We are happy to lend our support, advise or become part of any consortium which forms a solid rebirth of the club. While everyone, including myself, has lots of unanswered questions, I’d rather focus on trying to find a solution.
“To that end, I am still liaising with the RFL and to establish what it will take for a fresh bid to be submitted so Featherstone Rovers can be reborn, play again and take its place in the RFL championship competition. I refuse to believe the death of the Featherstone Rovers. It will exist again, notwithstanding last week's decision.”
Under Cooke, Rovers finished sixth in the second-tier last season and reached the 1895 Cup final at Wembley, losing to York Knights in golden-point exta-time. Of his reaction to the club’s demise, Cooke admitted: “My immediate overriding emotion is one of sadness-for the players I coached last season, the staff I worked alongside and for the local community who I know live and breathe the club and provide support for the players. This will impact the Featherstone community, local businesses and others.”