Interim RFL CEO Abi Ekoku has ‘no doubt’ that Featherstone Rovers will be a part of the 2027 Championship season. Ekoku spoke to the press at the 2026 Championship launch on Monday afternoon as the 20 Championship clubs completed their media duties ahead of Friday’s launch when Salford RLFC take on Oldham.
Of course Salford will be a part of the new season having bounced back from liquidation under new owners and a different guise. Featherstone were unable to do that though after being denied an RFL membership.
The West Yorkshire outfit entered administration in December and had just one party come forward with interest in taking the club forward.
Unfortunately, though, that party failed to meet the RFL’s governance requirements and that ultimately meant the governing body could not endorse Featherstone’s place in the second tier.
As a result, Featherstone will not be a part of the Championship this season and the club are now looking at a very uncertain future.
And, in an honest and open discussion, Ekoku explained the process the RFL board went through before eventually rejecting Featherstone’s submission.
RFL chief on Featherstone Rovers
“This is a process that began from when the club went into administration, actually pre them going into administration,” he said. “We go through standard due diligence and in that due diligence, you look at financial sustainability, ownership group and there’s a variety of variables on which a club has sustainability into the following season. It’s a decision that has been made by the board but with certain criteria which apply to a new club application.
“Featherstone’s membership ceased to exist with the RFL on December 19th. The old company went into administration, which is an insolvency event. We went through a step process where the administrators received applications from interested parties and there was one applicant. That one applicant were the former directors of the old company, so that presents a challenge.
“From a governance perspective you have one company dropping off debt and a new company being formed to trade on. We have less interest in the gross debt, but certainly an interest in the rugby debt. Now, the definition around that is not fixed but we were looking at that rugby debt up to the point of the club going into administration.
“In the assessment to board, there wasn’t enough separation between the old company and the new company. I won’t go into specifics but there wasn’t enough separation. It’s not about one set of owners, it’s about the operation standards that we accept as a game.”
Fortunately for Featherstone and those associated with the club, it seems the wheels are already in motion in regards to a rebirth. Head coach Paul Cooke has released a statement to confirm his desire to play a part in saving the Flatcappers, but Ekoku has revealed that there has already been interest with two potential parties deemed to be ‘serious’.
“There has been interested parties in wanting to take up the Featherstone membership for next season,” he added. “Two of them are serious for sure, two separate bids. 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.”
Asked if he was confident that Featherstone Rovers would be part of next year’s league, Ekoku added: “No doubt at all. There’s nobody that didn’t want Featherstone in the competition and there’s nobody that doesn’t want them here next year.”
In fact, the interim CEO didn’t rule out the possibility of the club being brought back into the competition mid-season.
“Sport is nothing if not flexible,” he said. “We’d be trying to find a creative way to bring a club in but they would still have to go through the same qualification process and it would depend on the members.
“You want to retain the integrity of the fixture list but if there was another party who could present an application to say that they could fulfil membership, they have to go through the same process as this consortium did – and that might take a bit of time.”
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