Mayor of Greater Manchester outlines Salford Red Devils’ vision after Super League relegation confirmed

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has spoken in the wake of Salford Red Devils’ confirmed relegation from Super League.

Burnham, who has attended numerous meetings with the RFL over the past few months in relation the survival and future of Salford Red Devils, has insisted that the club will not die and that the council would be committed to allowing them to play at their current home, the Salford Community Stadium.

Relegation from Super League was confirmed with the release of the IMG grades which saw Salford slip out of the top twelve, dropping to fifteenth, and with a HMRC winding up order on the horizon (28th October), Burnham was asked ‘Is this the end for Salford Red Devils?’.

“No, never,” was his firm response, when appearing on BBC Radio Manchester.

He insisted: “This club is too important isn’t it to its fans but also all of us and anyone who cares about rugby league, as I do. We will do everything to make sure that the club comes back.”

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Council ready to back a ‘reborn’ Salford Red Devils in after relegation

With that HMRC winding up petition in the next fortnight, there is very little clarity on the future of Salford Red Devils but Burnham made it clear that he and the Mayor of Salford believe the club can restart in the Championship from 2026.

He explained: “We had a meeting with the RFL, myself and the Mayor of Salford, Paul Dennett, and we’ve made the case for the club to restart in the Championship.

“They’re having an expanded league below now with more teams in it and we’re saying because the council own the stadium, it’s the council who decide who plays there and the council are ready to back a reborn Salford Red Devils in the Championship at the Salford Community Stadium. We’ve put that case to the RFL.

“There is a court case looming with HMRC and so we’ll have to see what is decided there but I just hope that there is potentially a path opening up for Salford Red Devils.”

Asked if that would still be Salford Red Devils or a possible phoenix club, Burnham admitted that is possible before underlining the council have a ‘possible path’ for the club to play at the Salford Community Stadium in 2026.

“Possibly, I don’t know and that’s for others to decide,” he said regarding a phoenix club, adding:  “Obviously, there’s still a situation going on with the current owners but I think that there is a possible path for Salford Red Devils to play next season in the Championship but still at the Salford Community Stadium.

“I care deeply about any of our clubs, both rugby league and football, because that’s our heritage. I’m encouraged by the conversations that we’ve had and the groundswell of support for Salford Red Devils has been fantastic to see.”

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