Salford Red Devils fan group sends out defiant message with phoenix club update

Work is well underway to ensure a phoenix club can take Salford Red Devils’ place in the 2026 Championship, a fan group has confirmed.

It comes following this morning’s HMRC hearing, which saw the Salford club wound up and liquidated. Such a decision comes after several adjournments on the basis that the club’s owners secure the money needed to settle their debts and keep the club afloat.

They have not been able to do that and the ruling this morning brought an end to the Red Devils in its current guise. A phoenix club would allow professional rugby league to continue in Salford, though, and the 1873 have released a statement to give an update on intentions to pull a new organisation out from the ashes.

While Salford City Reds (2013) has ceased to exist, a phoenix club would allow the Salford club to continue in a different entity. And, hope is not lost of seeing a Salford club compete in the second tier competition next year.

The new club will of course need a place to play, before the proposition of players and coaching staff can be considered. And, in the statement below, the fan group are calling for the RFL and Salford City Council to come together and allow a ‘newco’ to take on tenancy at the Salford Community Stadium as a first step.

With just six weeks to go until the start of the Championship season, which Salford are scheduled to open against Oldham on January 16, time is of the essence in that regard, with December 5 considered to be a ‘long stop’ date.

As such, it remains to be seen if a new club will be able to take on Salford Red Devils’ RFL membership in time for the start of the season. However, what is clear is that although the company has been liquidated, the club is far from dead.

Salford Red Devils fan group statement

The statement read: “You cannot liquidate loyalty. You cannot dissolve devotion. You cannot wind up 152 years of history. The company may be gone, but Salford Rugby League is not a company – it’s a cause. It’s generations of families, lifelong friendships, and the stubborn belief that our small corner of the North deserves its place on the biggest stage. From the ashes of this failure, a rebirth is already beginning.

“Discussions are happening right now between credible parties – people who understand this city, who love this club, and who will build a new organisation worthy of its legacy. There will be a new structure. There will be a new direction. And there will be rugby league in Salford once again.

Liquidated on paper.

Alive in every heart in this city.

Salford Rugby League was never just a company – it’s a legacy, a cause, a community that refuses to be erased.

From this moment, the fight for a reborn Salford begins.

The 1873 pic.twitter.com/ifTU9AewlV

— The 1873 (@The1873_) December 3, 2025

“Rebirth is not an easy process. It takes honesty, hard work, and humility. It requires learning from what has gone wrong – secrecy, short-term thinking, and decisions made in boardrooms far from the people who matter most. The next chapter must be different.

“It must be open, community-rooted, and professionally run.

“It must recognise that the badge belongs to the fans, not the financiers.

“And it must grow, not by chasing cheques, but by building trust.

“If we get that right, we can create something stronger than ever before – a Salford club reborn with a purpose beyond survival.”

It continued: “We call on Salford City Council and The RFL to work jointly, and constructively, to swiftly appoint a ‘newco’ to take on the tenancy of the stadium and assume the membership left behind by the liquidation of Salford City Reds (2013) Limited. This action must take place in the coming days.

“If there is to be any chance of a Salford club competing in the Championship in 2026, Friday 5th December must be seen as a ‘long stop’ date for this newco to be approved. The 2026 Championship season commences in six weeks’ time and, with so much to be done in that time, any delay in the decision-making process will significantly hamper the possibility of a Salford club making the start line.

“The boys of Cavendish Street, our founding fathers, could never have imagined days like this – but they gave us something powerful enough to endure them. A name. A legacy. A belief that rugby league in Salford means more than just sport – it’s part of who we are.

“So yes, today hurts. It’s a day for grief, for anger, and for reflection. But it is also a day to recommit ourselves to the fight.

“Because the flame that was lit in 1873 has not gone out. It flickers now – but soon, it will burn brighter than ever.”

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