Press Release
Date: 12/03/2026
First Rugby League Fan Engagement Index shows Super League has lots to do to improve fan engagement.
- Super League’s ten English clubs scored on relationship with their fans during the 2025 season
- Hull FC top out of English Super League clubs
- Warrington Wolves take second place
- Further research into fan engagement in the whole professional pyramid being published in April
Rugby League’s first ever Fan Engagement Index has been released by experts Think Fan Engagement (TFE), providing the first snapshot of fan engagement in the sport. Covering only the English Super League clubs during the 2025, it scores each club using publicly available data.
As with its original English football version, it places each club in a league table comprising three areas: Dialogue, Governance and Transparency. At a time when the sport has been dealing with a number of financial crises at clubs, it also demonstrates just how crucial it is to be far more connected with their most important stakeholder – fans.
The first RL Index sees Hull FC win the overall title, with local rivals Hull KR and Warrington Wolves equal second. Salford, who reformed after going out of business last year, finished joint fourth.
Although this is the first RL Fan Engagement Index, it is not the first time TFE has worked in the sport. In 2021, it published a survey of over 1,100 fans of clubs across the professional pyramid that presented a picture of fans who often felt cut-off and isolated from the major decisions affecting their clubs.
TFE’s owner Kevin Rye said, “Rugby League is a sport with a proud history and a deep connection between fans, communities & clubs. However it is also one that we think can benefit hugely from improving how it involves those fans in major decisions.”
“It’s been well publicised that the sport has struggled in recent years. A number of clubs have struggled to survive, though Halifax & Salford have both bounced back from collapse. However, Featherstone Rovers remain in limbo, with their fans and community fighting hard to ensure they don’t disappear for good.
“We think the sport needs to look to this strong, deep connection with its fans to build a game that can not only survive but thrive.”
The index will be published annually, acting as a spur for improvement and greater sharing of expertise, knowledge and best practice across the game.
TFE will be publishing a detailed report in April that will look at practice in more detail across the top-two divisions of the sport.
ENDS