London Irish return on course despite death of Jordan

Eddie Jordan led a consortium to buy London Irish out of administration in February

London Irish remain on course for a 2026 return despite the death of former Formula 1 team owner Eddie Jordan, his son says.

The Exiles were bought out of administration by a consortium led by Jordan last month.

Jordan, who also worked as a TV pundit, died in Cape Town, South Africa, on Thursday 20 March, having had aggressive prostate cancer. He was 76.

"Our strategy remains firmly in place. We're on track to return to competitive rugby by September 2026 and nothing has changed in that pursuit," said interim London Irish chief executive officer Kyle Jordan, son of Eddie Jordan.

London Irish set out their plan to return under a fan ownership model in 2026 six days prior to Jordan's death.

The Jordan Group said their core aims were to secure a league for the club to compete in, as well as a home ground in west London, and to establish a women's team and academy, before handing over to fan ownership.

'Mission is to build something lasting'

"London Irish was never about one person. Our mission is, and will always be, to build something lasting - something rooted in Irish identity, global ambition and community," Kyle said in a statement on LinkedIn.

"While Dad was a huge inspiration behind this journey, our plans were always built to move with him in the background."

Jordan's Formula 1 team won four grands prix in its 15 years and gave seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher his debut in 1991.

Tributes came in from across the motor racing world in the wake of the Irishman's death and his son described his "huge" loss.

"He was my mentor, my hero, and the person who helped shape how I see the world - through competition, culture and relentless belief," Kyle added.

"His passing leaves a huge void in my life and in the spirit of the sporting world we both loved."

When did London Irish go into administration?

London Irish have been inactive since going into administration in 2023

London Irish filed for administration with debts of £30m in June 2023, after they had been suspended by the Premiership for failing to meet a deadline to pay their players or agree a sale of the financially-stricken club.

Players then moved on and the club have been inactive since.

Wasps and Worcester also went out of business during the same season.

Irish, along with Wasps and Worcester, applied to join the expanded Championship for the 2025-26 season.

Their plans for a 2026 return would rule them out of entering the league but former administrator Lee Manning said the Jordan Group had explored the possibility of joining the United Rugby Championship, in which sides from Ireland, Wales, Scotland and South Africa compete, rather than restarting lower down the English pyramid.