IMG attach surprisingly little value to winning the Challenge Cup in Super League licencing criteria

IMG have revealed the criteria for their licencing system that they want to introduce into Super League.

Here is a complete breakdown of everything that can be awarded points as part of this grading system.

There is a maximum of 20 points available split between five main areas: fandom, performance, finance, stadium and catchment.

Every area is broken up into components which carry points:

Fandom: 5
Attendance: 2.5
Viewership: 1
Digital: 1 (0.3 social following, 0.6 website visits, 0.6 total engagements)
Performance: 5
League Performance: 4
Super League: 0.75
Challenge Cup: 0.25
Championship: 0.25
League One: 0.1
1895 Cup: 0.1
Finance: 5
Non-centralised turnover: 2.25
Non-centralised turnover as % of total turnover: 0.75
Adjusted Profit: 0.5
Balance Sheet Strength: 0.5
Working Capital: 0.5
Stadium: 3
Facilities: 1.5
Utilisation: 1
Primacy of Tenure: 0.25
LED: 0.125
Big Screen: 0.125
Catchment: 2

Catchment is the population of that area divided by the number of clubs in that area.

One thing that particularly stands out is the value attached to the Challenge Cup. It has one third of the value of winning Super League with 0.25 points compared to Super League which only counts for 0.75 points with a maximum of four points awarded for league position.

This also means that the value of the Challenge Cup, the oldest competition in Super League and the only other major final outside of the Grand Final, is the same value as winning the Championship.

IMG have also confirmed how many points are required for each Grade:

Grade A: 15+ points
Grade B: 7.5-14.9 points
Grade C: Less than 7.5 points