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Former Super League champion Bradford Bulls "have gone into liquidation but talks are already under way to reform the club in time for the new season," according to Aaron Bower of the London GUARDIAN. The administrators of the Championship rugby side, which was relegated from the top division for the first time in '14, failed to finalize a deal to save the club after it "entered administration for the third time in four years in November." Last week, the club's administrators rejected an offer from a consortium led by former New Zealand Rugby League Chair Andrew Chalmers, despite approval from the Rugby Football League. A new consortium "subsequently expressed an interest but that bid fell through late on Monday" after the unnamed party withdrew its interest. The club reportedly has debts of £1M ($1.22M) and a funding shortfall of another £1M. The RFL is "hopeful of a club being put together within the next seven days," with the hope it could begin the season as planned in the Championship. Bradford Bulls interim GM Stuart Duffy said, "We found out on Tuesday afternoon. We were looking forward to good news and had heard nothing to the contrary over the holiday period. Everyone is in total and utter shock" (
GUARDIAN, 1/3).
FREE AGENTS: In London, Ian Laybourn reported the Bulls "officially ceased trading on Tuesday and the club's players were told they are now free agents." However, the club "will be given the go-ahead to compete in the Championship" under new owners, albeit with a 12-point deduction as "punishment for breaching the game's insolvency regulations." The RFL said in a statement, "While a number of alternatives were considered the board were most mindful of the planning already undertaken by all other clubs in the competition structure, the season tickets already purchased and the players and staff who will now be seeking employment in and around the sport in 2017." An RFL spokesperson said that while the news was "terribly disappointing and sad," the governing body "was not entirely surprised by the development given the scale of debt incurred by the previous management of the club" (INDEPENDENT, 1/3). The BBC reported Bradford Bulls "were one of the most iconic names -- and clubs -- within British rugby league, having led the way when the sport switched to summer" in '96. However, "the Bulls' downfall has been swift." In March '12 the team revealed a £1M shortfall and the club was placed in administration in June. That August, Bradford Bulls Holdings Ltd. was sold to OK Bulls Ltd., a consortium led by local businessman Omar Khan. In '14 a second administration followed, along with a six-point penalty deduction, "and they were relegated from Super League at the end of the season" (BBC, 1/3).
