Club Grading and Betfred Super League 2026 – Update

The 2025 Club Grading scores and rankings will be published on Thursday October 16 at 10am. 

This will also confirm the 12 clubs to compete in the 2026 Betfred Super League with a full central distribution – the top 12 clubs in the rankings. 

The panel that has been formed to consider applications for Super League membership and the possible expansion to a 14-team competition will announce its decision on Friday October 17 at 10am.  

Media arrangements for that announcement will be confirmed on Thursday. 

Club Grading was introduced in 2023 as part of Rugby League’s long-term strategic partnership with IMG, measuring clubs across five pillars – Fandom, Performance, Finance, Facilities and Community.

Full details of the latest grading criteria are published here.

All clubs were given an indicative grading score in 2023 based on a combination of on-field and off-field criteria, with seven reaching the 15 points threshold for an A Grade, another 17 awarded a B Grade after passing 8 points, and the other 11 clubs graded C. 

The story since then has been of significant improvements, in grading scores and in off-field standards across the sport. 

In 2024, when grading scores determined Super League membership for the following (2025) season for the first time, there was an increase to nine Grade A clubs; 20 of 33 clubs increased their scores in the finance pillar; and the same number increased their fandom score largely driven by improved digital performance. 

That positive direction of travel has continued in 2025, with 13 clubs improving their overall score – three of them by a full point or more. 

Fandom scores are up again thanks to a record-breaking season in the Betfred Super League with an aggregate attendance of more than 1.62m, a record for a 12-team competition, with an average attendance in excess of 10,000 for the first time in the Super League era. 

In addition seven of the 13 Betfred Championship clubs had an increase in their average attendance year on year, with League One attendances up by 7% on the 2024 figure. 

The official average viewing figure across Betfred Super League fixtures shown by Sky Sports and BBC Sport was up 50% year on year. 

It has been a spectacular year digitally, with 19 clubs achieving growth of 10% or more year on year, and the total number of social media followers across all clubs reaching 4.53m - up 18% from 2024 and +29% from 2023. 

Club engagements across social platforms hit 585.7m, a 55% increase from 2024 and 213% from 2023, with 26 clubs meeting the 10% year on year growth target for engagement. 

In the Finance pillar, 15 clubs improved their score, and 11 improved their non-centralised turnover score indicating increased revenue opportunities. 

In the Facilities pillar, 18 clubs now meet Super League minimum standards – up from 14 in 2024. 

And in the Community pillar, there have been a number of new Foundations launched, with 31 clubs now having a Foundation as a registered Charity, all harnessing the power of Rugby League to make a lasting difference in local communities. 

Tony Sutton, RFL: 

“Rugby League broke new ground for British sport when Club Grading was introduced as part of Reimagining Rugby League and IMG’s long-term strategic partnership with the sport. 

“It had six stated aims – driving clubs to grow their fanbases, to better engage with their fans, to grow their top-line non-centralised revenue, to generate greater investment in the club and the sport, to be run in a best-in-class way, and to ensure that strong governance is in place. 

“The steady increase in scores across the majority of pillars, despite an increase in some thresholds, shows that Club Grading is delivering against those objectives.”