MASON CATON-BROWN has explained that he got involved in efforts to relaunch Salford without a thought.
Caton-Brown’s consortium, also including former chairman of the Forever Reds Supporters Trust Malcolm Crompton and businessman Paul Hancock, was chosen by the RFL ahead of two others to lead Salford’s charge from the bottom up.
It’s full circle for the 32-year-old, who made 32 appearances for the old Salford Red Devils club between 2014 and 2016, as he returns to a place that embraced him “with open arms”.
“I came to Salford when I was 21, fresh-faced moving up from London on my own,” Caton-Brown said.
“The club and community welcomed me with open arms. I even carried on living there after joining clubs in other parts of the country.
“It became my second home, I built businesses in Manchester and Salford so it made me who I am today.
“When I was asked there was no thought, I knew I wanted to be involved in trying to build this club back up.
“It was a real honour to be asked and now, having been given the green light, it’s a dream come true.”
Caton-Brown knows partner Hancock well, with the two going back over a decade, whilst his relationship with Crompton is blossoming every day.
“Paul was my sponsor when I was a player and I carried on speaking to him when I stopped playing,” explained Caton-Brown.
“He would help me with some of my businesses so I’ve known Paul for over ten years now.
“Malcolm I know through this bid. It’s been weird, I feel like I’ve known Malcolm forever because our group and team just clicked.
“We all had one thing in common which was just being as transparent and honest as possible because we are Salford fans.”
Local technology entrepreneur Ashley Washington also supported the Phoenix Bid consortium while Cas Paton, the founder of online marketplace OnBuy.com, is a strategic partner.
And Caton-Brown believes that outside investment and interest will now only grow.
“We have got a big investment from OnBuy.com and a guy called Cas Paton who is a local man,” he added.
“He will be one of our main sponsors but now we’ve been given the green light, we will have a lot more interest in our club.”