Featherstone Rovers are set to discover their fate early next week as a proposed takeover moves closer to completion, paving the way for a potential return to the Championship as a phoenix club.

It is understood two separate takeover bids have been submitted, with former Featherstone head coach Paul Cooke's consortium proposal among those still under consideration.

The West Yorkshire outfit are seeking a fresh start after the financial turmoil that led to their demise at the end of last year.

Any successful takeover would need to provide a sustainable future for the former Championship club and restore professional rugby league to Post Office Road.

Hope is growing that professional rugby league will return to Post Office Road next season. (Photo: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)

placeholder image — Hope is growing that professional rugby league will return to Post Office Road next season. (Photo: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)

London Broncos' impending promotion to Super League is expected to create a vacancy in the Championship for next season.

Featherstone face competition from ambitious amateur side Bedford Tigers after they confirmed this week that they had submitted a formal business plan to the Rugby Football League outlining their own bid to join the professional ranks.

There have nevertheless been encouraging signs that Rovers are closing in on a return to the Championship after a season in the wilderness.

Featherstone entered voluntary administration last December against the backdrop of a winding-up petition over unpaid debts.

Paul Cooke, left, is part of a consortium bidding to save Featherstone. (Photo: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com)

Rovers, who spent heavily in their bid to reach Super League, conceded the company behind the club was "unable to trade its way out of the present situation due to the level of debt it currently has".

Featherstone owed more than £120,000 in unpaid tax and had struggled to meet wage bills following the departure of chairman Paddy Handley.

Any hope of making the start line for 2026 ended in January when the RFL rejected the sole takeover bid, citing insufficient assurances that it would provide a new beginning for the club. The company behind the proposal had links to former owner Mark Campbell.

Cooke subsequently pledged to help rescue Featherstone, telling The Yorkshire Post at the time that he was working on plans to assemble a consortium capable of securing the club's future.

The former England half-back, who led Rovers during their final season in the professional game, expressed his determination to prevent the loss of one of rugby league's most historic clubs.

Hopes of a return have been boosted by proposals for Wakefield Council to invest £500,000 to help bring professional rugby league back to Featherstone.

The plans would see the money used to support the RFL's purchase of Post Office Road, which would then be leased to a new operator.

The council's contribution would be matched by the RFL, with discussions also taking place over further financial support from national funding bodies. Senior councillors are expected to approve the proposals.

Lukasz Borcz, the council’s cabinet member for culture and sport, said last month: "These proposals are about protecting rugby league heritage in Featherstone and protecting facilities that are valued by local people.

"The use of funding from the Rugby League Resilience Fund will help to establish a sustainable professional future for the game in the town."