Premier League will not be reduced to 18 teams amid calendar congestion pressure, says CEO

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has insisted the Premier League will not reduce in size from 20 to 18 clubs amid mounting pressure over an increasingly-congested football calendar.

The new top-flight season kicks-off on 15 August, just five weeks after Chelsea lifted the inaugural expanded Club World Cup with victory over European champions Paris Saint-Germain.

It will begin an 11-month campaign of competitive football, culminating in the men’s new 48-team World Cup finals in the US, Mexico and Canada throughout June and July 2026.

Critics of what they see as an overly-busy football schedule have been steadily growing in recent years.

Manchester City midfielder and Ballon d’Or winner Rodri last year warned that players are “close” to going on strike due to the increase in the number of games clubs are expected to play each season.

Uefa’s expansion of its three continental club competitions – the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League – was a key factor in the decision to scrap FA Cup replays last term.

And while France’s Ligue 1 opted to reduce from 20 to 18 teams for the 2023-24 season, Masters said such a move would not be replicated across the Channel.

“I don’t think we should be forced into that decision,” Masters told BBC Sport.

“I am all for the growth of the game and the exciting competitions our clubs can participate in – but not at the expense of domestic football.”

Masters’ comments come in the midst of an ongoing dispute between Fifa and players’ union FifPro over the potential impact of the schedule on player welfare.

Masters shares the union’s belief that Fifa did not undertake a suitable consultation process before implementing the expansion of the Club World Cup and World Cup.

“The jury is out about the competitiveness of the format and the scheduling and the underlying economics, but it is not my job to assess the success or otherwise of the Club World Cup,” Masters said.

“It is my job to assess whether these new competitions have an impact on the domestic calendar and domestic competitions, of which the Premier League is one.

“Since 1994 the Premier League has been 380 matches, 20 clubs. We haven’t changed shape at all.

“Now we are now starting to redesign our domestic calendar at the altar of European and global expansion.

“We are asking the players to play in more matches. There has to be, at the top of the game, a proper dialogue between Fifa and all the stakeholders about how these things go forward.

“That has been sadly missing.”

Chelsea and Manchester City, who both participated in the Club World Cup, had requests for delayed starts to their respective domestic campaigns rejected by the Premier League – a decision Masters said was made in the interest of fairness.

“It is the butterfly impact of decisions taken beyond our influence by other footballing bodies that directly impact on domestic leagues,” said Masters.

“When you finish a tournament in mid-July and have to provide the players with three weeks’ break, there is only a week to go before the start of the season.

“It doesn’t add up. It puts us in unnecessary conflict with our own clubs. It’s not just those involved in the Club World Cup. It is the clubs they are playing and we have to be fair to everyone.”

Adblock test (Why?)