Will a Salford phoenix club be able to contest 2026 season?

Taking the 2025 Super League season out of the picture, Salford’s recent history has made for impressive reading. In the following year, they advanced to the Super League Grand Final and the Challenge Cup Final.

They won the play-offs in 2024 thanks to a fourth-place finish, but Leigh Leopards defeated them in the eliminator stage.

Behind the scenes, however, things have not been so rosy for the Red Devils.

On the eve of the new campaign, they eventually agreed to a takeover of the club by a consortium led by businessman Dario Berta and first requested an advance of their 2025 central payment to cover financial holes.

However, a demoralizing season is set to be played by young teams that feature reserve players and significant defeats.

Their campaign starting with a record-breaking 15-try 82-0 hammering at St Helens while a chastening 80-6 loss away to Hull FC in August was another low point.

The club hastily signed seven players on loan and fielded five debutants in the matchday squad, which meant some players only met their team-mates on the bus ride to Hull for that final game.

However, these issues occurred during a time when there was at least a functioning professional rugby league club.

At this stage, it is unclear whether a Salford club will be able to fulfil the 2026 Championship fixtures that were published on Tuesday, 24 hours before the club was liquidated.

With six weeks until the start of the season, Salford had been scheduled to play host to Oldham on Friday, January 16th, in order to kick off the upcoming second-tier campaign. However, they currently have just one player on their books, full-back Jack Walker.

Given that their finances in 2025 theoretically will directly affect the financial factors used to determine the grading in 2026, it is unclear what kind of prospects the club might have in any future IMG grading.

It would be unlikely they would be graded high enough to compete for a return to Super League for 2027 based on their past finances, unless it is agreed that whichever party subsequently takes ownership of a rugby league club in Salford would be its own entity.

The board of the RFL’s board will likely decide later this week about how rugby league will continue in Salford, but BBC Radio Manchester reports that three parties are interested in the club.

Anyone looking to form a Phoenix club? With the advent of Christmas, they can quickly establish an operational infrastructure, a coaching staff, and ticketing. Literally everything is going to have to start from scratch”, Nick Holt, founder of fan group The 1873, told BBC Radio Manchester.

Protests against the club’s ownership and that of consortium members Saia Kailahi and Curtiz Brown grew as the 2025 season came to an end.

Their financial troubles pre-date the arrival of the now previous ownership group. The club had claimed that a protracted dispute over stadium ownership had resulted in its statement late in 2023 that it was “at risk.”

Because of these financial concerns, the club was placed in the January sustainability cap. They were then ordered by the RFL to sell players.

The RFL eventually approved the change of control almost two weeks after Berta’s group announced its takeover in February.

In a November interview with the BBC, RFL senior executive director Nigel Wood said it would be unfair for the organization to accept responsibility for any of its member clubs’ financial situation.

“There will always be in any sport – I can point to Sheffield Wednesday, and I could point to Wasps or London Irish or Worcester – there will always be poorly run clubs that eventually don’t manage their affairs properly and they can’t defy gravity forever”, he said.

In the future, “the laws of the land and the law of insolvency will address that in full.”

With so little time until the 2026 season’s debut, it’s still to be seen if the necessary staffing and other resources are actually available.

When many clubs were already conducting their business for the upcoming season, the rugby league team’s promotion to Super League by the Bradford Bulls, Toulouse Olympique, and York Knights to become an expanded top flight in 2026 came quite late in the calendar.

Nevertheless, the trio have enhanced their respective squads with the certainty of their league position, yet that leaves Salford in a state of flux with such little time left.

To compete in their opening game of the season in mid-January, much work will need to be done, let alone gather the resources necessary to see out the entire 2026 campaign.

When asked whether a potential Phoenix club should step aside in 2026 to concentrate on the following season, Holt responded that “I personally don’t think that would work for anyone.” Obviously the RFL have now got to look at how they can preserve the integrity of the Championship competition.

On Tuesday, “fixtures were released. There are clubs there that require Salford’s inclusion in the structure. Ultimately the time has come for the likes of the RFL and Salford City Council to work with these credible parties who are looking to form a phoenix club and make a decision on that and that decision needs to happen in the next few days. “

Early this week, Burnham and Dennett said in a joint statement that “concerned discussions” had been held about the club’s future ownership.

The RFL now, in our opinion, has the necessary leadership and governance in place, the statement continued.

Irwin, who resigned as chief executive after just three months in the role in May, said that” the club, its fans, its community will never die”.

And some supporters have expressed relief that the club has been dissolved, according to BBC Radio Manchester.

Because we’ve been promised things that will be great, jam jam, and uncertainty throughout the entire year, there has been uncertainty. But we didn’t even have bread today, “Salford fan Steve told BBC Radio Manchester.

It’s been horrendous, and most people will be angry and relieved because it’s a part of the mourning process.

Salford broke their attendance record just over a year ago, and the spirit of the club continues to permeate the club’s history.

” Today has been a massive relief for every fan involved with Salford. The Dog and Partridge owner, Dennis Riley, said that anyone who is taking control needs our support more than anything.