London Irish's hopes of returning to professional rugby have taken a significant step forward following a takeover led by businessman Steve Daniels. The Exiles, who went out of business in 2023, could return to competitive action as early as the 2027 season, with the Championship emerging as their preferred destination.
However, the club still has considerable work ahead before it can field a professional team again. New chief executive Jamie Balls has outlined an ambition to rebuild London Irish on sustainable foundations, rather than rush into another expensive project. With no established professional squad, an unresolved stadium situation and several sporting appointments still to address, the coming months will determine how realistic that timetable becomes.
The previous ownership group, involving Kyle Jordan and Daniel McKeown, had explored entering London Irish into the United Rugby Championship. That would have placed the Exiles in a competition featuring Irish provinces and clubs from Scotland, Wales, Italy and South Africa. However, the proposal encountered resistance within rugby, and the new leadership now considers the English Championship a more realistic starting point.
The Championship and Premiership also attract considerable attention through match broadcasts, rugby reporting and sports betting coverage. That coverage also extends to sports betting markets, where rugby fixtures can feature both pre-match odds and live betting prices. The distinction becomes particularly relevant when a team's form changes during a match, as in-play markets respond to the score, remaining time and developments on the field.
For example, live sports betting at 247bet.com illustrates the distinction between changing in-play odds and conventional pre-match markets, although London Irish's future fixtures cannot yet be treated as confirmed offerings. Once the club resumes competitive matches, its performances could become part of the same wider rugby betting coverage, with results and match developments influencing how odds are assessed.
London Irish's last Premiership campaign ended in 2023, when financial problems brought the professional operation to an end. Players and coaching staff subsequently moved elsewhere, leaving the new ownership group without the established first-team structure that most clubs carry from one season to the next.
That makes the proposed return particularly demanding. Even if the Exiles secure Championship entry for 2027, they will need to recruit enough players to compete across an entire domestic campaign, not simply assemble a starting fifteen.
Experienced Championship players could provide an immediate understanding of the competition, particularly in the forwards, where scrummaging, lineout organisation and physical preparation have a substantial influence on results. Players released from Premiership squads could also become potential recruitment options, although no specific signings have been confirmed.
The timing of those decisions will depend on when London Irish receive greater clarity over their league position. Until then, the club cannot establish a definitive preseason schedule or determine exactly how much preparation time its eventual squad will have together.
The Exiles were previously associated with an attacking approach that helped them compete against established Premiership opposition. Their final professional seasons included performances that demonstrated the club's ability to develop combinations across the backline while competing against teams with considerably larger resources.
Rebuilding that playing identity will be difficult without the personnel responsible for those performances. The new leadership must first decide what type of rugby London Irish intend to play and appoint coaches capable of implementing that approach with an unfamiliar squad.
A director of rugby would normally have a substantial role in recruitment, player development and preseason planning. Bringing that structure together before major squad decisions are made could help avoid assembling players whose strengths do not suit the same tactical system.
The Championship would also present different demands from the Premiership London Irish left behind. A newly formed team would need reliable set-piece performance, defensive organisation and sufficient depth to manage injuries throughout the campaign.
The new takeover places London Irish under the ownership of Gamechanger Investments, led by Steve Daniels. The company purchased the club's name, brand and associated intellectual property from Kyle Jordan and Daniel McKeown, who had previously been involved in attempts to revive the Exiles.
Daniels, 47, has a business background that includes co-founding PE Solutions, an energy company reportedly reaching £1.4 billion in turnover within seven years. He has since stepped away from that business to pursue other investments and has maintained involvement in community rugby.
Although Balls has acknowledged substantial financial backing for the project, he has also emphasised that Daniels does not intend to fund unlimited losses indefinitely. The objective is to establish a club capable of supporting its own operations over time.
That distinction matters for squad recruitment. London Irish could face pressure to sign established names to accelerate their return, but expensive contracts would need to fit within a sustainable operating budget. The challenge will be allocating enough money to build a competitive Championship squad without recreating the financial pressures that contributed to the club's collapse.
London Irish's proposed return also raises the question of where the club would train and play its home fixtures. Before going out of business, the Exiles played at Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium from 2020 to 2023, having previously been based at Reading's stadium.
The new owners are considering existing venues as possible short-term solutions, while the prospect of developing a new ground has also been discussed. No permanent home has been confirmed, and Balls has not identified the locations currently under consideration.
One possibility is Hazelwood, the club's former training base in Sunbury-on-Thames. The 53-acre facility was developed for professional and amateur rugby, giving it an established connection to London Irish's previous operations.
However, the club does not currently own Hazelwood, and negotiations concerning the property's future remain ongoing. Recovering access to suitable training facilities would help the club prepare a professional squad, organise medical and conditioning support, and establish regular preseason routines.
For London Irish, the immediate priority is therefore not promotion to the Premiership, but securing the facilities, players and coaching structure needed to return to the field in 2027. The club's progress over the coming months will determine whether that target remains achievable and how competitive the Exiles could be upon their return. Until their league participation, squad, and fixture schedule are confirmed, there is little basis for assessing their prospects in future Championship matches or the betting markets surrounding them.