UCFB academic publishes first annual index looking into fan engagement within English Super League rugby

UCFB academic Kevin Rye has published his first insight into fan engagement across Rugby League in England.

Kevin, who is a lecturer at UCFB Wembley in BA (Hons) Football Business in Media, established Think Fan Engagement in 2018, which until now has published annual fan engagement indexes and pods in English men’s football.

Think Fan Engagement advises clubs, organisations and brands on their relationships with fans, strongly advocating a culture of listening.

Regularly publishing research on this vital area, Kevin has added to that the annual Fan Engagement Index for Rugby League, published in March 2026.

Covering Super League clubs during the 2025 season, it scores each club using publicly available data. View the index in more insight to see how each team scored.

As with Think Fan Engagement’s 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.

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 and 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.