[Rugby League] Bradford Bulls goes into administration

[Deleted]

I know most of the people on here have no idea who they are but hey, they might be some RL fans on here. I've been a Bradford Northern/Bulls fan all my life, so I am gutted .

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Bradford Bulls have entered administration and face "extinction" if a buyer is not found within 10 days.

The Bulls announced in March they needed £1m to stay afloat and are thought to owe over £600,000 now.

Joint-administrator Brendan Guilfoyle said: "We have just 10 working days to save the club from liquidation because there are no funds to carry on longer.

"If anyone is interested in buying the Bulls we need to hear from them, this club is on the brink of extinction."

He added: "The directors made every effort to try to save the club within the 14-day timescale issued by the courts, but the moratorium ended on Monday without any potential buyer coming forward."

The Bulls, who are currently 9th in the Super League table, are one of the most decorated side's in English rugby league.

They have been crowned Super League champions four times, with their last victory coming in 2005, and won the Challenge Cup on three occasions.

Administration means the Rugby Football League are now likely to hand them a points deduction and this would almost certainly scupper their hopes of making the play-offs for the first time since 2008.

It is understood Bradford currently owe £196,000 in PAYE tax for May and June, plus an outstanding VAT bill of £250,000 from the sale of the lease of Odsal to the RFL, while the monthly wage bill is over £200,000.

On 14 June it was revealed that the club could be forced to go into administration after being served with a winding-up petition by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs over unpaid tax.

Bradford shocked the rugby league world in March when they announced that they needed to raise £1m to stay afloat after an impending tax bill and a changed banking lending arrangement left them short of money.

Having asked supporters to pledge £100 and carrying out a number of fundraising activities they were able to raise their initial target of £500,000.

Attempts to pull in further investments were unsuccessful and chairman Peter Hood stepped down last month after a series of disagreements with majority shareholder Chris Caisley.

Director Stephen Coulby admitted the club were at serious risk of going into administration at the start of June.

The Bulls become the third Super League side in three seasons to enter administration after Yorkshire rivals Wakefield faced similar difficulties last year and Welsh outfit Crusaders in 2010.

Crusaders were then liquidated in 2011, with Widnes Vikings taking their place in Super League.

Bulls forward Ian Sibbit said on Twitter: "Super League wouldn't be the same without Bradford Bulls. Let's hope our great club can be saved."

Current Super League licences are not up for renewal again until 2014 so the Bulls' place in the elite of the sport should be safe, assuming they can sort out their financial problems.

Bradford's major honours

World Club Championship - 2002, 2004, 2006
Super League champions - 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005
Minor Premiers - 1999, 2001, 2003
Grand Finalists - 1999, 2002, 2004
Challenge Cup winners - 1943-44, 1946-47, 1948-49, 2000, 2003.

[koodledrum]

I feel for you, it sucks being in administration, sucks even more being liquidated! (even worse being in Scotland and every diddy team in the league which hasn't won shit in 40 years thinking they're better than you)

[Deleted]

I don't know what's going on with rugby in general at club level. I don't know too much about league since I'm not a fan but union clubs down here in South Wales aren't doing so well either. Talk of merging regions due to lack of funds... I don't know where all the support/income has gone? When an international is on everyone is suddenly the biggest fan yet our clubs suffer.

I feel your pain OP to some extent and I hope your team can sort things out for themselves.