Amidst a seething row over the revamped 2025 FIFA Club World Cup slated for next summer in the USA, world football’s governing body, FIFA, are reportedly planning to reduce the number of teams in the domestic league’s top tier to 18.
We reported earlier that top leagues in Europe such as the LaLiga and the Premier League have kicked against plans by FIFA to go ahead with the planned organization of a 32-team FIFA Club World Cup next year.
Premier League chief administrator Richard Masters and his LaLiga counterpart Javier Tebas have been at the forefront of staunch advocates against plans by FIFA to organize the 32-team tournament next year.
The duo argues the tournament will put further pressure on Football Clubs and players who are already grappling with congested schedules from multiple competitions.
They also argue the expanded FIFA Club World Cup is a death sentence on football and will take a heavy toll on club football management and the entire football ecosystem.
Now, according to The Sun, there are fears FIFA, who are not ready to budge on their decision to hold the competition next year, will attempt to tackle the issue of fixture congestion by reducing the number of teams in some top-tier domestic leagues in Europe.
The report adds every FIFA member association with domestic leagues of 20 teams could be forced to drop two teams for an 18-team format going forward.
One source said: ‘We all think that this is the ultimate aim from FIFA, to find a way of making us drop to 18.
“What you can put your money on is the working group saying there is too much domestic football, that we should all go down from 20 clubs to 18, and that the least impact on players comes from international matches.”
All the top five football leagues in Europe operate a 20-team format in their top-tier divisions except Germany. Should FIFA progress with the reported plan to enforce an 18-team top-tier league format, the LaLiga, Premier League, Serie A z, and French Ligue 1 will all be affected.
However, it is pertinent to note such moves could pave the way for another flashpoint of conflict between FIFA and domestic Football Associations.
