Carlo Tavecchio, President of the Italian football federation, wants to reduce the number of clubs in Serie A from 20 to 18, in order to increase competition, attract greater revenue and bring in a larger fan base in order to compete with La Liga and Premier League.
Tavecchio plans to implement this makeover in a space of three or four years. He said, “I know there are economic problems and we can’t do it in a year.”
Tavecchio gets Seria A President’s backing
In what will definitely be seen as a show of support for Tavecchio’s proposal, Serie A President Maurizio Beretta has said that he is open to discuss the idea.
If Serie A does indeed implement the aforementioned format, it wouldn’t be the first time that it has done so in its history. The top tier of Italian football actually had only 18 clubs competing for top spot from 1998-2004.
Also Read: A look back at how Antonio Conte made Juventus great again
Those were the glory days of Italian football which saw players like Roberto Baggio, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paolo Maldini, Fabio Cannavaro, Zinedine Zidane, Paul Ince, Ronaldo Nazario, Clarence Seedorf, and Del Piero display their abilities in Italy.
Unsuccessful in Europe in recent times
Serie A clubs have a proud history in Europe’s biggest competition, The Champions League, but – barring Juventus’ appearance in the 2014-15 version of the competition, when they were defeated by FC Barcelona - Italian clubs have faltered in recent times.
Also Read: 10 Most expensive signings in Serie A
The quality of football in Serie A has also seen a dramatic downfall, along with the competition, with Juventus having won the last five editions of the competition. That does not look to change this year either, with Juventus having a fairly positive transfer window, despite losing Paul Pogba.
Tavecchio believes that reduction in the number of teams in the top tier would increase the skill level, as well as toughen the competition leading to a more exciting event.
Revamp of Serie B and C as well
The Italian football federation President also told Rai State Radio that he plans to reduce the number of teams participating in the second and third tiers of professional football – Serie B and Serie C as well.
Tavecchio is hoping that a return to the old format would also mean a return to showcasing players of such quality again in the future.
