Hull FC can confirm they have been awarded Grade B status following the completion of the IMG grading process ahead of the 2025 Betfred Super League season.
As one of the highest scoring Grade B clubs with an overall score of 14.51 out of 20.00, the club’s position in Betfred Super League in 2025 is now officially confirmed.
The Black & Whites are ranked 10th of all 36 professional clubs across Betfred Super League, Betfred Championship and Betfred League One – Grade A clubs are automatically awarded a position in the top division, while the next highest scoring clubs that achieve Grade B are allocated the remaining positions in Betfred Super League until the 12 positions are filled.
Points are awarded in accordance with criteria based on fanbase engagement, on-field performance, finances, stadium and community reach.
The club’s score has decreased by 0.54 points after receiving a provisional Grade A status in 2023 with a score of 15.05. The club’s score has decreased due to four specific areas of scoring:
- A reduction in the club’s three-year average TV viewership figure, dropping below the top scoring threshold of 150,000.
- A small reduction in the club’s three-year average stadium utilisation figure – a percentage representing how full the MKM Stadium is in terms of attendances as a percentage of the stadium’s capacity.
- Despite having been awarded the points in 2023, the MKM Stadium’s two UEFA technical specification standard LED big screens do not meet IMG’s grading criteria in this specific category.
- A drop from 10th to 11th in the three-year average league position scoring system.
While the club is disappointed to not achieve Grade A status, the club understands that an unacceptable campaign on the field in 2024 is the main contributing factor to the decrease in score across the league position and stadium utilisation categories, while the change in broadcasting landscape for the 2024 season, a factor out of the club’s control, has led to a change in the club’s TV audience figure.
The club has also expressed frustration at the loss of points in the stadium category due to unrealistically achievable criteria for stadium big screens, as well as incorrectly being awarded the points in this category under the same criteria in 2023.
The club’s two big screens, which were installed in 2016 and meet UEFA’s technical specification standards, have a pixel pitch (the distance between the screen’s individual pixels) of 20mm; IMG’s criteria in this category requires stadium big screens to have a pixel pitch of 5mm or less – this criteria is effectively impossible to achieve for permanent outdoor stadium screens of the MKM Stadium’s screen size.
A pixel pitch of 5mm is the typical standard for screens of a much smaller size compared to those of the MKM Stadium, such as ones used in small indoor entertainment and retail venues, for a comfortable viewing distance of around 8.5 metres. For comparison, the Coventry Building Society Arena is considered to have one of the UK’s best stadium LED screens – installed in 2018, the screen’s pixel pitch in 10mm, and would not meet IMG’s grading criteria.
The club have requested for this criteria to be amended or removed for the 2026 IMG grading period to correctly reflect the reality of outdoor stadium screens and their specifications.
Elsewhere, the club is pleased to have maintained positive scores across areas including digital following and engagement, finance, stadium facilities, and community.
The club once again achieved the highest scoring threshold in total social media engagements and website visits as the club’s digital output continued to grow and expand in 2024.
The club also maintained a highest threshold score in terms of their average attendance over a three-year period.
Highest threshold scores were also achieved in several areas across the finance category, including in non-centralised turnover, non-centralised turnover percentage, and adjusted profit, thanks in part to further growth across our retail and commercial figures, as well as retaining over 8,400 members for the 2024 campaign.
The club once again scored positively in the stadium category, achieving relevant points for ‘facilities’, and LEDs board – however, the club is unable to score full marks in this category due to not owning the MKM Stadium, being heavily marked down in the utilisation category due to the stadium capacity being much higher than most other stadiums in the sport, and due to the criteria issue relating to the stadium’s big screens.
The club maintained their scores across the community category thanks in part to another successful year within the Hull FC Community Foundation, delivering sessions and programmes to people of all backgrounds across the region, directly engaging with over 12,000 participants – the club remains unable to attain the highest possible mark in the ‘catchment’ category due to two teams competing within the local authority catchment area.
The club also met all of the relevant minimum standards, including relating to the club’s player performance pathway, women’s team, player welfare, community rugby league development, Community Foundation, equality, diversity and inclusion, and environmental sustainability.
Work is already underway across the club to work towards achieving Grade A status for the 2026 Betfred Super League season.
Speaking on the announcement of the club’s grading, Chairman Adam Pearson, said: “While we are naturally disappointed not to achieve Grade A status for 2025, we are clear that our poor performances on the field over recent seasons is the main contributing factor to this, and have clearly identified this as our key focus area for the next grading period.
“A natural consequence of our on-field performances is the slight decrease in our stadium utilisation score; meanwhile, the decrease in our TV viewership figure due to the change of the broadcasting landscape in 2024 is a factor beyond the control of the club.
“We have also expressed our frustration in relation to not achieving the relevant points for our stadium big screens, being marked against unrealistic and unachievable criteria, despite having two of the sport’s best big screens, and being the only club to have two screens, rather than one.
“As has been evident by the plethora of changes to our playing squad and performance department over recent months, work is already well underway to rectify our performances in 2025 in terms of on and off-field personnel, facilities, and player welfare and development.
“With the appointment of new head coach John Cartwright, as well as several new members of performance staff, and host of experienced signings to support and develop our young squad, all led by our new Director of Rugby in Richie Myler, we are confident the changes made will see an uplift in our fortunes in 2025.”
Pearson continued: “Elsewhere, we are pleased to have maintained scores above the highest thresholds in several other areas, including relating to digital output and finance, thanks in part to the tireless work of our off-field departments across media and marketing, retail and commercial – all posting impressive figures in 2024 despite our on-field performances.
“While we performed positively in those specific areas, we have identified clear pathways across all departments to ensure all figures continue to increase in the next grading period, regardless of being past the upper threshold or not, as we strive for improvements in all areas.
“We are also hopeful of seeing some alterations to some of the grading thresholds in 2025, which will see departments across the club have new, realistic targets to aim for, and help drive further development across the club. Unfortunately this season due to the current scoring thresholds in place, the club was not able to identify any other areas where the realistic possibility of increasing their score was feasible, outside of league performance and stadium utilisation.
“As well as changes to the big screen category, we also hope to see other positive changes to the stadium category, with the club effectively being deducted points for playing in one of the competition’s premier facilities, and catchment, with the club not able to include the population of local areas including Hessle, Willerby, Cottingham, and Beverley within their figures, despite having a large out-of-town supporter base, while the city of Hull in general is marked down for having two professional teams.”
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