BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Wigan Warriors, Salford Red Devils and several other clubs have given their initial support to the IMG grading criteria that has been released today.
The recommended grading criteria created by IMG covers five key areas, with each element contributing to a percentage of the overall weighting. They include Fandom (25%), Performance (25%), Finances (25%), Stadium (15%) and Catchment (10%).
RL Commercial, the RFL and IMG will conduct a series of grading criteria follow-up consultations with club representatives in March and early April, ahead of a vote which is set to take place on 19 April.
Wigan are hoping to land a Category A grading, and club CEO Kris Radlinksi described the criteria as a step in the right direction.
“I’ve clearly only had the information a couple of hours so there is a lot to consider,” Radlinksi told rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads.
“It’s natural in situations like this that you look and see how that affects your club – I did that also. However, me and all the clubs need to look at the much bigger picture to see what it means to the sport.
“Raising standards across the sport is the underlying message and anything that focuses on such things would get our vote.
“I will need to speak to my board to seek their views, but on the whole, a step in the right direction.
“I have gone on the record to say that it is the most critical decade in the sports existence and we have to get it right.”
Wakefield are also after a Category A grading and their CEO Michael Carter described the new grading criteria as “interesting”.
“Interesting, challenging, lots to mull over the next few clubs,” he said.
Salford Red Devils chairman Paul King was also in favour of the new criteria.
“The challenge for us is the same as everyone else, to improve across some areas of the business as part of an overall need for the sport to improve,” he said.
“It will be an interesting few months.”
Another Super League club CEO, who declined to be named, said the general consensus amongst the clubs at the criteria meeting today was positive.
“We have to do something different,” he said.
If voted through by the clubs, grades for the 2024 season will be released at the end of the 2023 season and clubs will be provided with a dashboard outlining the areas they need to improve to attain a higher grade.
Grading will then come into full effect from 2025, with the top tier league comprising of 12 clubs including all ‘Category A’ clubs and the highest-ranking ‘Category B’ clubs.
All gradings will be re-assessed annually, meaning it is envisaged that promotion and relegation between the tiers would continue, but no longer wholly determined by on-field performance.
