Changes have been made to the IMG club grading process criteria for 2025, the RFL have confirmed. It comes as part of an announcement which confirmed four rule changes, including the introduction of the captain’s challenge, and the results of a vote on the promotion and relegation proposal put forward by Batley Bulldogs.
The changes come following feedback on the 2024 grading process, with changes being made to the existing model relating to fandom, stadium, community and minimum standards.
The first change comes to the digital scoring, with new thresholds being introduced on the back of two seasons of data. A total of 0.15 points will now be available should clubs have more than 300,000 followers across social media platforms, while over 20m engagements provides 0.6 points and more than 2m website visits gives 0.375 points. IMG points will also be offer should clubs show growth of 10 per cent year on year in the above fields.
An alteration will come in viewership to take into account the launch of the new Sky Sports + streaming service and broadcast deals with Sky Sports and BBC. Viewership will be measured using one year of data from the latest season and a TV average match audience. The six clubs with the highest average audience will be awarded 1.0 point, while 0.75 points will be awarded to clubs who have five or more games shown on TV or streaming services.
A stadium redevelopment exemption will be introduced ensuring clubs who have commenced work on their home grounds will not be impacted negatively, while changes have also been made regarding requirements for a big screen and LED advertising.
Under community, changes have been made to catchment, with clubs able to increase their score by signing rugby league development agreements with other local authorities. That’s a change that will seemingly suit both Hull FC and Hull KR who haven’t previously been able to use data from outside of the City of Hull boundary.
Final changes will see alterations to the treatment of insolvency cases, while late penalties have also been introduced, with 0.25 points being deducted should clubs file their data capture forms after the deadline.
