KEIGHLEY Cougars have today been handed a much-improved IMG grading score of 9.02.

The RFL revealed that this morning, with the leap from an indicative Grade C score of 6.58 showing the off-field progress made by Keighley in the last 12 months.

Given clubs only need to score 8.00 or more to reach Grade B status, Keighley have comfortably achieved that goal.

Chief operating officer Steve Watkinson said: “We've been working hard on our internal systems and procedures all year, making operational changes which help us collate the large amount of data required to complete the IMG Grading Form.

“It's no secret the gradings are complicated but by taking more time to better understand the terminology and what's required, that has played a big part in achieving a much-improved score from our indicative 2023 score of 6.58 points.

“One of the biggest increases in points has come from the Fandom pillar and it is testament to our fans who turn up to Cougar Park every week and engage with our content on our website and social media channels.

“We now need to look forward to the next 12 plus months and plan to maintain our Grade B status, while starting to work on the other areas within the grading pillars to identify where we can pick up further points.

 “This score represents one of the biggest points increase out of all of the professional clubs and I am proud as a collective that we have pushed Keighley Cougars into rank 19th (the top 12 make up Super League for 2025).

“The overriding message here is that we are building for something special at Keighley and having the fans on board is a huge part of this.”

Not only have Keighley pushed their total score up by over two and a half points, but they have also rocketed up 11 places among the professional clubs in the top three tiers of British rugby league.

That aforementioned total of 6.58, revealed in October 2023, was only enough to put them 30th, above just Workington, Whitehaven, Midlands Hurricanes, Cornwall and North Wales in the standings.

Managing director and co-owner Kaue Garcia said: “It's fantastic we've been able to achieve Grade B status in the IMG rankings.

“My stance still stands that this isn't the direction the sport needs to be heading in, but here we are.

“With the B Grade in mind, there are other off-field things we need to focus our time and investment into and as such, we have fully reviewed the finances of the club from top to bottom and will apportion budget appropriately.

“The squad we put out on the field will very much depend on our 2025 ‘Moments’ membership take up, which recently launched, and additional local business sponsorship.

“I would urge anyone interested in partnering with the Cougars to get in touch with myself or Steve.

“We have advertising boards, player sponsorship and match day sponsorship opportunities, which are always popular.

“The club will shortly announce a revised SquadBuilder scheme, to which any sign-ups will help build towards the playing budget.”

In a statement, the RFL confirmed: “Under the illustrative grading in 2023, Keighley Cougars were ranked 30th and in 2024 they are graded 19th.

“This 11-place jump is the highest we have seen among all of the clubs.

“There are a handful of clubs who have made significant gains, but Keighley Cougars have made the strongest rank improvement.”

Going from 30th to 19th in the rankings is a big boost for Cougars, but they will remain in Betfred League 1 for 2025, as promotion and relegation between the second and third tier is still decided by on-field results.