Workington Town have explained to the fans the latest grading marks for the club.
Although they have slipped three places overall, the club believes it has the platform to challenge for a Category B verdict next year with the help of the fans.
They are still Category C and have been ranked 27th out of the 35 clubs in the latest IMG rankings.
There are 20 points available and in the sections Town scored as follows:
- Fandom: 1.375 out of 5.
- On field performance: 0.5714 out of 5.
- Finance: 2.0 out of 4.5.
- Stadium: 0.874 out of 3.
- Community: 1.75 out of 2.5.
Total for 2025: 6.571 out of 20
Town said they felt there were plenty of positives behind those scores and have identified areas within reach to grab extra points for 2026 for a grade B rating.
The largest reduction in points compared to 2024 was in the Fandom section and Town said this was due to an increase in the social media thresholds needed to acquire points and also the way the data was measured.
The club said: “That combination resulted in a loss of 1.075 points from 2024.
“Fans can help by following/liking and subscribing to our pages on Facebook, X , Instagram, Youtube & TikTok.
“React, like and comment on the stories.
“Our key message to all of you who love this club is to share our news to your followers – if you like it, share it!
“Sharing our news, our videos shows people what is going on at the club and that gives us a chance to reach new eyes, to engage new fans and to put our crest, our history, our passion, our vision and our club in front of potential new sponsorship partners!
“If we can all support this our attendances will also rise too as people are made aware of the club, what we are doing what we are achieving and its fixtures.
“Attendances were up on 2024 to an average of 972, largely down to the return of the West Cumbria derby and a 2,400+ crowd when we beat Whitehaven 10-8, however the next threshold for more points is 1,500, so we have work to do but we can achieve that over the next 24 months.
“We will have a new, modern facility in the shape of the Cumberland Sports Village so the future is a bright one!
“The fanbase and potential is still there in West Cumbria. Together we can get those numbers up and make the Fibrus Community Stadium the place to be as Championship Rugby and the variety of exciting opponents head to us in 2026.”
Town have done particularly well on their score for involvement with the community and plan to continue and develop that.
Town said: “We are working incredibly hard to be a positive part of people’s lives in the area via the Workington Town Community Trust.
“We have introduced Town on tour at the community clubs and we aim to take Town to as many communities as possible.”
The club’s Town takeover days will be revamped and they are to introduce a Talk of the Town which delves into all things Town.
As far as prices are concerned the club will be doing what it can to keep costs down as low as possible, it said.
Children will be again be able to watch for free in 2026 and early bird matchday pricing, all inclusive RL season tickets and memberships reward the supporter who commits to Town.
Despite finishing runners-up in League One this year Town have dropped points in this area due to the way the on field performance is assessed over three years – 2023, 2024 and 2025 results.
In reality that second place is scored less than finishing bottom of the Championship in 2022 and with that 2022 position now dropping out the assessment Town have scored less in this area.
Finishing 6th and 7th in League 1 has impacted the score considerably. The club says: “We need to keep progressing and not retract overall league position to improve the IMG score in 2026 & 2027 as positive finishes will replace the lower league 1 finishing positions we had in 2023 and 2024 as they drop out of the assessed period.
It added: “This season’s 2nd place in League 1 was the first step of a 3 year period that will see the score improve and replace the very poor 2 years in League 1”
The club has gone on to report how they are seeking to improve the squad.
“We are reshaping the squad and we feel improving its overall quality to be ready to compete at Championship level.
“A lot of good work has been undertaken and we are happy with where we are. “We will start to announce news on retentions and new signings to add to those announced already,” it said.
In the finance section Town have shown a solid improvement.
The club said: “Since mid 2022 the board of directors involved and staff in place have done an excellent job and we are delighted to say that we have acquired 0.5 more points in this area taking us from 1.5 in 2024 to 2.0 in 2025. This is testament to the work done across that time.
“The score relates to increases in non centralised turnover. This comes from share capital sales, increased sponsorship figures, events and bar trading success and creating a good matchday experience from start to finish which increases secondary spend in many areas outside ticket sales. “We can certainly still improve and we are working on a wider development plan to keep enhancing what we can generate from a revenue perspective.
“Aa for the stadium the score achieved in 2025 is very similar to the score in 2024.
“We have to consider the cost vs benefit of investing in the stadium and the possibility of closing areas down to increase utilisation percentage by reducing capacity is not practical.
“We could reduce the capability of hosting a larger crowd and other clubs have done this however we chose not to. The future scoring in this area will change when we move to the new stadium and the new facilities that provides.
“In the next two years we expect stadium score to remain very close to the number achieved in 2024/2025.”
Town repeated their aims to be a Grade B club in the years ahead.
Here’s what Graeme Peers said about the grading:
