Bradford granted licence

The Rugby Football League has handed Bradford Bulls a one-year probationary licence to stay in Super League.

The crisis-hit club were taken over by Omar Khan's consortium at the end of August, with the governing body ratifying the deal at the start of the week. RFL chief executive Nigel Wood said: "This is a very positive development which provides stability for all the clubs in Super League and below, it allows the sport to approach next season with even greater confidence." He added: "The board deliberated long and hard and took into consideration the many views of the sport's various constituents before reaching a decision which we believe is in the best interests of the whole game. "The new owners of Bradford Bulls are to be congratulated on their foresight in purchasing a club which we always knew was a very attractive proposition. Their investment in Bradford Bulls is a vote of confidence in Super League." There had been some debate about whether the four-time Super League and five-time Challenge Cup winners would be allowed to stay in the top division. Wood said the decision to award the Bulls a probationary Super League licence would mean the RFL could keep a close watch on Bradford's progress and eradicate the possible need to undergo a mini-licensing round.