Salford Red Devils: RFL awards new side Championship membership

The Rugby Football League has awarded Salford a new Championship side for 2026, three weeks after the old club folded.

A consortium led by former Red Devils player Mason Caton-Brown has been selected from three “high quality” proposals to take over the club.

The RFL said the bid from Salford RLFC Ltd “demonstrated a clear commitment to sustainable governance, financial responsibility and long-term stability”.

Caton Brown told BBC Radio Manchester earlier this month that he had a head coach and players ready to join the new club, but they now faced a race against time to prepare for the scheduled opening game of the season against Oldham on January 16.

He said at the time: “We have already got some agreements with some players, and if this offer is successful, we can turn them into concrete agreements with the players, and I am really confident that we can get a full squad for our first match.”

“We have a coach in the lineup who is really excited and ready to go. He’s been working a lot trying to talk to the players as well.”

Salford Red Devils finished on 3 December after a turbulent year, with mass player departures, delayed wages, heavy defeats and ultimately losing their Premier League place for 2026.

The High Court decision ended the 152-year-old club, but hopes quickly rose that the Phoenix could enter the Championship in 2026.

A consortium with former Salford chief executive Chris Irwin was also in the running to lead the new club and the AFL said they hoped the unsuccessful sides could work alongside Caton-Brown’s group in a “mutually beneficial way”.

“The quality of bids we have received reflects the strength of the commitment to rugby league in Salford,” RFL interim chief executive Abi Ikoko said.

“Our decision, which could not have been made without the clarity and support of Salford City Council and the Stadium Management Team (CosCos), has been made in the long-term interests of the club, the local community at its heart and the sport of rugby league as a whole.”