RFL receives ’10 expressions of interest’ in re-launching Bradford club

RUGBY LEAGUE’S governing body has said it has received 10 expressions of interest in launching a new club in Bradford.

It issued a call for someone to step in following Bradford Bulls’ administrator admitted defeat earlier this week and began the process of the club’s liquidation.

The interested parties are understood to include the chief executive of rugby union club Rotherham Titans, Richard Lamb, and former New Zealand Rugby League chairman Andrew Chalmers.

Bradford Bulls were World Club Champions just 10 years ago and were one of Super League biggest and best-supported clubs. The club has struggled for most of the last decade and went into administration for the third time in four years in November.

The RFL is keeping open its place in the Championship for a Bradford team, with its first game still scheduled for February 5. However any new owner faces a 12-point deduction this season, all-but ruling out any chance of promotion to Super League for the 2018 season, as well as a myriad of other challenges – the most immediate being stopping the player exodus which has begun following the administrator’s decision to cease trading.