Hull FC are expected to return to Grade A status with IMG next month – and have shared one reason why.

Hull FC have taken some ‘major’ off-field strides as they aim to become a Grade A club in the IMG scores once again. The Black and Whites finished tenth in IMG’s standings last year on 14.51 points – the highest-ranked Grade B club. However, the club expects to make up the 0.49-point shortfall this year and return to the top grade.

Nine clubs – St Helens, Leeds, Wigan, Warrington, Hull KR, Catalans, Leigh, Wakefield, and Castleford – all finished with Grade A scores last year. Hull, who submitted a formal application to play in Super League next year, are expected to join them when the IMG scores are released next month. At the time, the club said they are ‘confident’ of doing so.

Of course, clubs are graded on five pillars: fandom, finance, stadium, performance, and community – with Hull expected to gain points in most categories. For certain, they will score strongly in the fandom section once again after posting some impressive digital numbers. They have achieved a ‘record-breaking’ 65 million digital engagements during the current IMG Grading period – up from 21 million.’

The club say they have ‘more than tripled their engagement total from the 2024 IMG Grading year across their social media channels and will therefore achieve top marks in this area of the grading, which is judged on five key digital channels – Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and X.

Hull FC Chief Executive, Richie Myler, said: “While much of the focus has been on our improvements on the field and across our performance department in 2025, this is a major off-field achievement and shows the strides we are making elsewhere across the club.

“While improved on-field performance has undoubtedly helped increase our engagement, our digital team has put a huge amount of time and energy into producing fresh, new content and ideas this year and fine-tuned what already was a strong output across our channels. These figures will play a huge part as we aim to return to Grade A status when the IMG Grading results are announced next month.”

Hull FC Media Manager & IMG Grading Lead, Lewis Scott, added: “Reaching such a significant figure is a superb achievement for the club and is a testament to the hard work of our full digital team and the enthusiasm of our supporters.

“Social media channels and trends are constantly shifting and changing, so we’ve put a strong focus on ensuring our channels are as on-trend as possible, producing content which not only ensures our fanbase is well informed but also entertained every single day.

“In this digital age, growing our presence across social media is more important than ever, and we can confidently say that we continue to possess one of the fastest-growing and most engaged fanbases in the sport.”

The club has also confirmed that chairman Andrew Thirkill will make a ‘wider announcement regarding other developments and progress’ at the conclusion of the current season. A full round-up of the digital growth can be found here.