Quote: Hockley Bronco "If this is driven by IMG's ranking system I do wonder what the clubs were doing accepting it. Having a system that produces players is surely a far more important measure of sustainability than a LED screen or a modern stadium full of empty seats?'"
We got 8.07 points, around 4 points below what we would need for a SL ranking. Even if IMG had included points for having an Elite Academy I doubt this would have attracted more than a single point since it does not directly support the objectives that the grading system is designed to incentivise. Perhaps with league performance being the biggest single factor in the grading (max 4 points), IMG expected clubs would see the sense in producing a supply of quality players. On the other hand, what do they care if clubs buy in success as long as it is done in a sustainable way.
The club have positioned this decision as being driven by the rating system.
Quote: Hockley Bronco "With the new IMG grading criteria, clubs are not directly rewarded for running an ‘Elite Academy’, so we will focus on other areas to improve the club with the long term aim of becoming ‘Category A’.'"
So while communicating this as a decision not to run the Elite Academy for 2024 they also accept we are unlikely to be in SL in 2025.
The question is how is the club going to change in order to make up the ranking deficit ? How are they going to invest that money in a better way ?