It’s over, finally

Salford City Reds (2013) Limited is no more. Well, it’s not official yet, but the court order to liquidate today is likely to be the final nail in its coffin. It’s a crap result, frankly, for those who are owned money – players, staff, contractors etc.

Looking at it purely from the perspective as a fan, however, there is no particular reason to mourn its passing. The company is the administrative shell for the club, not the essence of it. As The 1873 pressure group put it:

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.

If the company is liquidated as expected – I mean, who is going to pick up the vast tab when you can start afresh? – it will be the second company of the club to be liquidated in almost four years. The previous company, Salford Football Club Company (1914) Limited, was the administrative shell of the club for a century before the club’s registration was transferred to Salford City Reds (2013) Limited under the ownership of Marwan Koukash.

The old company was kept on life support for a decade to service the club’s old creditors from John Wilkinson’s administration via a CVA, until that later failed. Thus, the company was surplus to requirements and, therefore, dissolved in early 2022.

Here’s to a new era…

A duplicate of the certificate of incorporation of Salford City Reds (2013)