JUST over a week after announcing they would be selling the club at the end of the year, Keighley Cougars owners Kaue Garcia and Ryan O’Neill have made a major U-turn and confirmed that they will remain at the helm of the West Yorkshire club.
Garcia and O’Neill, who are a same-sex married couple, revealed that an increasingly high-level of personal abuse aimed at them over their support and inclusion of the LGBT+ community was one of the factors behind their initial decision to sell up.
But after making that decision public, the club’s fans rallied and used last Sunday’s home clash against Swinton to publicly back the owners and what they stand for.
And after seeing that reaction plus the “extraordinary outpouring of support from the club’s supporters, sponsors, volunteers, the towns MP Robbie Moore and wider community ever since the announcement”, Garcia and O’Neill have decided to remain at the helm and continue to build something that Keighley can be proud of.
“During an interview with ITV Calendar we were asked whether we had let hate win,” said Garcia in a club statement.
“That question really stayed with us because, perhaps without realising it, maybe we had.
“What the supporters of Keighley Cougars have shown us is that they simply weren’t prepared to let that happen. They reminded us what this club stands for. They reminded us why we started this journey in the first place.
“We’ve always believed Keighley Cougars should be about much more than rugby. It should be about bringing people together, creating opportunities and making our town proud. The incredible support has given us renewed energy and belief to continue building that vision.”
O’Neill added: “Over the last few weeks, we’ve felt the attacks harder than ever before. What we hadn’t realised was that we have an army of kindness within our club. People who share our values. People who didn’t just stand beside us—they stood up and fought for us.
“The days leading up to Sunday’s game were truly humbling. We saw the supporters of Keighley Cougars rally together in a way we never expected. The messages, the phone calls, the conversations on Sunday, reminded us exactly why this club is so special.
“In today’s world, negativity often shouts the loudest. It can sometimes make you believe that hate has won. What we’ve learned over the last week is that loyalty and decency are far stronger—they’re just sometimes quieter until they need to be heard.
“This isn’t about Ryan and Kaue. It’s about what Keighley Cougars can become when everyone pulls in the same direction. We’ve always said we’re only custodians of this great club. The supporters have reminded us that we’re not carrying this responsibility alone. The last two weeks have changed us. They’ve made us appreciate this club, this town and its people more than ever before. We know there is still a huge amount of work ahead, and we know there will be challenges. But today we’re looking forward, not backwards.”