Mason Caton-Brown, one of the consortium leaders to launch a new Salford Red Devils club, has shared a very positive update, confirming that his group have secured agreements with players and that a head coach has been “lined up”.
Caton-Brown is heading up one of three consortiums looking to take over Salford after the Red Devils filed for administration earlier this month. Former club CEO Chris Irwin is involved with another consortium, whilst it’s reported that Tracy Atiga is involved in another.
Previously, Caton-Brown spoke to Serious About Rugby League to outline his plans for the consortium and what Salford Red Devils could look like in 2026, and he’s now spoken on BBC Radio Manchester to offer more insight.
On the consortium’s goals, he said: “Our vision is simple really and that’s to build a sustainable future for Salford. What’s happened in the past has been a complete nightmare so me and my group of people have got involved and want to build a sustainable future and ensure it doesn’t ruin the 152 years of history.
“We’ve got some local Salford businessmen, Paul Hancock, Malcolm Crompton, Ash Washington and other successful Salford businessmen. It’s built by fans and supporters and our main focus is around the community and the fans.”
Phoenix club would be homed in Salford confirms consortium leader
The Red Devils are due to start their Championship campaign on Friday, 16th January but currently, Salford are in a liquidation process with Caton-Brown hoping that his consortium will be the one chosen to take the club on beyond that point.
In preparation for that, he confirmed that his group have spoken with the CorpAcq Stadium and the council about playing there, labelling it “very likely” that they’re able to play there if they’re successful in their bid to take over the club.
He said: “We’re speaking to the stadium and the council because we intend to try and play our games at the Salford Community (CorpAcq) Stadium. We’ve had discussions with them.
“We’re hoping very likely because they want rugby league at the stadium so we’re discussing with them.”
Fears over whether the club would be forced to abandon it’s Salford home were also shut down, as Caton-Brown confirmed: “The IP is still in this liquidation process so we’re working on that but it’s still going to be a Salford club.”
He also outlined why his group wouldn’t be merging with another, confirming that conversations had taken place, but that they would look to take on the club on their own.
“We’ve spoken to the other consortiums and our group feel like we want a clean slate from previous ownership and we’re happy with our group so we feel we’re in a good position to take on the club.”
Salford Red Devils have “agreements” with players and head coach “lined up”
In a message that many fans will be grateful to hear after the last ownership, Caton-Brown confirmed that money-making was not the goal of the takeover. Instead, he reiterated the need to save the history and community aspects of the club.
“We’re not coming into this to make money or a profit,” he explained, adding: “We want to build this club sustainably so it’s preserved and to protect the club and the community. This would be a massive loss for the community but we’re not coming to make a profit.”
As for next year, he confirmed that Salford would be part-time but that pre-agreements have already been made with players, adding that he was “really confident” a team can be put together for their opening Championship fixture.
He explained: “We’ve already got pre-agreements with some players and should we get this bid successful then we can make them concrete agreements with the players and we’re really confident that we can get a full squad out for our first game.”
As for who will be in charge, Caton-Brown revealed: “We’ve got a coach lined up and he’s really really enthusiastic and ready to go. He’s been working and trying to talk to players as well. If we get this bid and once we’re concrete then we can start releasing names and everything.”
In a final message to the fans, he said: “If we are successful then I’d ask you to get behind us. We are looking to bring this club back to life so we want to engage with you, we want you to be a part of it and I’m excited for what we can build together.”
Check out the latest episode of The Serious About Rugby League Show on our YouTube channel here.
