Hull FC are expected to be awarded Grade A status by IMG.
09:57, 15 Oct 2025Updated 10:13, 15 Oct 2025
Hull FC vs Wigan at the MKM Stadium. (Image: SW Pix)
Hull FC are expected to be confirmed as a Grade A club by IMG at Thursday’s grading unveiling – guaranteeing them automatic entry into the 2026 Super League competition.
The club submitted their application earlier this year to enter the competition once again, and their status to fulfil a 29th consecutive season in the top flight of rugby league is now understood to be a formality.
There are several areas where Hull are expected to make up the 0.49 points needed to reach the 15 points needed to regain Grade A status, having finished on 14.51 points last season – the highest scoring Grade B club. They were provisionally a Grade A club in 2023, scoring 15.05 points.
As for 2025’s scoring, the understanding is there are three areas that stand out in particular. As reported by Hull Live last week, the Black and Whites’ league performance score has gone up by two places, totalling around 0.2286 more points. They finished seventh this year and will score 3.0856 points on the performance pillar this year.
Elsewhere, that is matched by a higher season average attendance, with the club recording a 12,159 average for 2025 – a big jump on 2024’s 10,975 average. That will bolster their stadium utilisation score, which is worth a total of one point. Given the 25,000 capacity of the MKM Stadium, Hull will score in the region of 0.5 points here but, crucially, more than they scored last year.
The club, as confirmed on Tuesday night, has also done a development agreement with North Lincolnshire Council and merged with the population of the city of Hull; this will earn them around 0.5 more points on the community pillar than they scored last year.
The club has also confirmed a growth in their social media engagement this year, with 0.2 points up for digital. However, IMG have put the thresholds up in this area, and the understanding is Hull won’t score as highly as they did last year.
Furthermore, they still don’t meet the specifications for LED screens, with the pixel pitch of the MKM Stadium’s two big screens not meeting the figures demanded by IMG. Interestingly, they meet UEFA standards.
All 35 professional clubs will receive their IMG scores this Wednesday, with those scores published at 10am on Thursday. The top 12 scored clubs will gain automatic entry into the 2026 Super League competition, with an independent panel then assessing whether two more clubs will join the league as its 13th and 14th clubs.
Once again, 15 points are needed to reach Grade A status. Each club is scored on five pillars: performance, fandom, finance, stadium, and community.
The full scores for 2024 can be found here.
The full performance points for 2025 can be found here.