FEATHERSTONE ROVERS won’t take part in this year’s Championship competition after the RFL denied them membership.
The club, who had been continuously involved in professional rugby league since 1921, entered administration last month due to financial issues.
A group led by long-serving former chairman Mark Campbell have been working to get a new operation set up after being the only party to express interest in taking over Rovers.
But the RFL said this bid, which also involved Colm Corran and Chris Hamilton, previously a director and chief executive respectively of the club, did not meet the required governance criteria.
“The RFL will continue to work with the administrator and remains committed to supporting a sustainable return of professional rugby league in the town of Featherstone moving forward,” said the governing body.
It is understood the RFL insisted all rugby-related debts were met in full in order to secure membership.
Featherstone applied to enter administration after twice securing adjournments to an HMRC winding-up petition.
The case, over a reported £120,000 tax bill, was dismissed when the court approved their administration, but their total debt was thought to be considerably more.
Featherstone, who have a significant recent history of financial issues, were already subject to the winding-up petition when key backer Paddy Handley and chief executive Martin Vickers resigned in September.
Campbell, Handley’s predecessor as chairman, returned to the helm the following month, but the club was unable to find a way out of its predicament except by entering administration.
The RFL set out a period of just four days for new ownership submissions, with Campbell heading the sole interested party on December 19, but in the following three weeks they have been unable to satisfy the governing body to receive the club’s playing licence.
“This followed a substantial amount of time and effort given by all parties,” said Featherstone’s administrator, Andrew Rosler.
”We will endeavour to seek out and engage with any interested parties to secure a future for the club.”
Featherstone’s removal has great implications for the entire Championship, which begins next Friday (January 16).
Clubs who were set to welcome Rovers during the season will be compensated for the loss of a home fixture, the RFL has promised, while the table will now be determined by win percentage.
This is to ensure fairness because in the expanded second tier (now down to 20 teams), not every side plays one another.
Featherstone will also be removed from the Challenge Cup, in which they were set to enter at round two and play the winners of the first-round tie between Brighouse Rangers and Lock Lane.
There will still be a Featherstone side in the Women’s Super League this year, however, with this team run separately by the Featherstone Rovers Foundation, which continues to operate.