New Zealanders Graham Lowe and Andrew Chalmers have been confirmed as the new owners of the Bradford rugby league club that will replace the liquidated Bulls team in England.
The Rugby Football League made the announcement on Wednesday (NZ time).
Chalmers is a former New Zealand Rugby League chairman while Lowe, a former Kiwis coach, has vast experience in the English scene after coaching Wigan.
The new club will retain the Bulls' place in the second-tier Championship division, with a 12-point deduction.
The first move has been to remove head coach Rohan Smith who has left by mutual consent after less than year into a three-year deal.
"We appreciate all he did for the Bradford Bulls and the support he has given the playing group," Lowe said.
"We are focused on bringing in a new proven and experienced coach as soon as possible and the recruitment process is underway."
The Guardian reported that former Kiwis and Bradford star Henry Paul was the preferred choice to take over as coach.
Chalmers, a former director at Super League club Salford, registered the name Bradford Bulls 2017 at Companies House.
In announcing the deal, RFL director of operations and legal, Karen Moorhouse, said: "The RFL is confident that the consortium selected to run a new club in Bradford will provide an exciting and stable future for rugby league in the city."
Lowe and Chalmers, who arrived in the UK early Tuesday (NZ time) now need to get a competitive playing squad together to do justice to the famous league stronghold.
"I am delighted that we have been given the opportunity to create what we hope will be a strong and stable club in Bradford," Chalmers told the Telegraph & Argus.
"The history and tradition of rugby league in this great city is something we are both very aware of. We are under no illusion of the enormity of the task that is ahead of us and that it is our job to win the trust of supporters and deliver a club that they are proud of. We are both really excited about the strength of the high performance academy and the long term pathway opportunities that flow from this."
With several players already having moved on, Lowe said they were under pressure.
"We do not see this as a quick fix and we will work through the immediate issue of offering full-time playing contracts to the team," Lowe said.
"Following that, we will look at bolstering the playing squad as necessary to replace those players who have secured contracts elsewhere."
The group almost got the Bulls out of administration prior to Christmas when their bid was approved by the RL before being rejected by the administrator. But they have now satisfied everyone they can get the recovery job done.
Judith Cummins, MP for Bradford South, told the Telegraph & Argus it was "brilliant news" the club could now move forward.
"I look forward to sitting down with the new owners to discuss their future plans to take the Bulls forward, back to their rightful position at the top of rugby league," she said.
Paul Butterworth, chairman of the Bradford Bulls Supporters Trust, praised the players and the new owners' commitment to the Bulls' academy.
"I hope talks with staff and players can be resolved as soon as possible, because they have been through hell. We're just looking forward to seeing a Bradford team out on the pitch, and I urge all fans to get behind the team and enjoy the day," he said.
- Stuff