KEIGHLEY Cougars co-owners Ryan O’Neill and Kaue Garcia have expressed their frustrations against IMG and remain firmly against the proposals put forward in the ‘Re-imagining Rugby League’ plan that went public yesterday.

At a special RFL council meeting held in Huddersfield, IMG revealed a grading system for clubs, from the 2025 season onwards, based on a whole range of factors, including attendances, catchment area, financial accounts, stadia and on-field performance.

Controversially, on-field performance only makes up 25 per cent of the overall grade.

Cougars managing director Kaue Garcia told the PA News Agency: “It’s going to be a closed shop.

“What they are being clever about is portraying this whole new structure and avoiding the words promotion and relegation, quite wisely, as they don’t get a backlash from fans.

“But fundamentally if you see the system, it’s designed for Super League clubs to remain at the top.

“If this gets approved it will cement our future because year in, year out you’ll be playing the same teams.

“It should be competitive so fans come and see the thrill of potentially going up, or support the team if you’re in danger of going down.

“IMG don’t seem to grasp those fundamentals. I was vocal against them, saying they seem data-focused but they don’t seem to understand how important the sport is to communities and towns.

“You will kill that if you do this. Why would any sponsors be interested in coming to Keighley Cougars if there’s just that ceiling for example?

“They’re saying every year clubs will get reassessed, but that’s absolutely crazy.

“There are only a few teams that would reach those categories they’ve created. It leaves the door open, it’s a clever way of marketing, which they’re very good at.”

Garcia added: “As one of the categories would have to increase your attendance, but the product you have in Championship has a ceiling.

“The maximum you achieve is 6,000, it doesn’t matter what else you do, you’re not going to get a crowd of 10,000.

“That’s a product for Super League because you have bigger teams.

“For us at Keighley, we will never reach a 10,000 crowd, let’s be honest about it. Our population and area, even with playing Bradford, we’ll hit a ceiling.

“But if we have a chance to go into Super League and play Leeds and Warrington, obviously you’re going to hit the 10,000.

“But they’re not allowing us to do that because we have to stay in the Championship.”

“I’d say 100 per cent we sensed more support (from representatives of other clubs at yesterday’s meeting). When I was talking there were more heads nodding.

“In this structure with a closed shop of 12 Category A clubs, if you finished top of the second tier but someone had more points than you in other areas and finished sixth, they would go up and you would have to stay down.

“If the other teams below you in the league rank more than you, imagine explaining that to fans.

“If you finish 6th, you would go up to Super League? What’s the point in the Million Pound Game?”

Most clubs in the top three tiers are seemingly in favour of the plans, certainly at this initial stage, but Garcia said: “I would like to think more people would vote against it.

“I’m just trying to portray that their system does not work.

“We’re not against progression but it should be fair. You win, you go up, you lose, you go down.

“They’ve tried to turn it into rocket science that nobody will understand and it will push fans away.”

“One of the five pillars is catchment area for example, where they’ll favour the likes of London.

“They’ve tried for 30 years (to grow) and it’s never worked. If IMG are so data-driven, they’d know that the lowest attendance in the Championship last year was when London played.

“Yet because we’re in an area with other teams, we’d score lower.”

Cougars CEO Ryan O’Neill agreed with Garcia, saying: “I feel they’re worse (the IMG plans) than I expected.

“You’ve got to have a PHD in astrophysics to understand the grading system they’ve put in place. It’s not sport, it’s so technical that it’s going to turn the fans away in droves.

“We came with an open mind but that closed very quickly when we learned of the technical detail clubs have to go through to be graded. It’s just absolutely crazy, it’s not sport.

“The whole thing is elitist and it’s protecting the few. They want to get to 12 category A clubs and once they get there, that’s it. That’s what I understood it to be.”

“If we had the opportunity to play St Helens we’d get 10,000 people, but we won’t get that opportunity. It’s not a fair playing field.”

He added: “IMG are saying it’s their way or the highway. When Kaue was objecting to it they asked if we’d now given up on the sport.

“I’m not saying we’ve given up, but we don’t like this proposal and there are way better ones that can improve the sport.

“A lot of teams will vote for it though because they don’t think there’s an alternative.”

O’Neill mused: “For me, it’s all about broadcasting.

“Make it free-to-air and get more exposure on terrestrial TV and let the country watch the sport.

“That’s what I would do, I’d forget about putting this sport behind paywall but that’s not what they’re talking about, they’re talking about more paywalls.”

Finally, he fumed: “It’s dispiriting.

“Why would I work my guts off and throw my money into it for us to be congratulated for winning the Championship, but sixth-placed London go up?

“I love our town and our club so we’ll keep fighting, but it’s dispiriting.

“It’s history repeating itself. I looked around that room and I felt like my dad in 1995 (when title-winning Cougars, under chairman Mick O’Neill were denied entry into the newly-formed Super League).”