Reduce the number of teams in Premier League and EFL to improve quality, says Pep Guardiola

[ASFN Admin]

Pep Guardiola has called for a reduction of teams in the Premier League and across England’s other three professional divisions in a bid to “protect” domestic leagues amid the threat of a proposed European Super League. The potential creation of a European Super League to replace the Champions League that could be worth hundreds of millions of pounds to the continent’s biggest clubs has sparked widespread controversy and been met with fierce opposition from Fifa and Uefa. Guardiola’s side Manchester City, along with the Premier League’s other “big six” members Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham, could form part of such a Super League if the plan ever got off the ground. Although those clubs would still compete in the Premier League, there are concerns about how a European Super League would impact on domestic competition given the proposals involve playing between 18 and 23 matches each season, a huge increase on the number of games played annually in the Champions League. Yet Guardiola believes nothing should be implemented that poses a threat to the harmony of domestic competition or further increases the workload of players. And he feels English football should explore the possibility of reducing the numbers of teams across the four top divisions in a bid to boost quality by lessening the demands on players. “I have the feeling that we cannot lose what the local leagues mean - what it means to play the FA Cup tomorrow, for example, what it means to play in the leagues,” the City manager said when asked about the European Super League proposals ahead of his side’s FA Cup fourth-round tie at Cheltenham Town on Saturday. “What we should do from my point of view is to make every single league in Europe stronger than it is now. That means less teams. Better Championship, better League One, better League Two, better Premier League - with less teams in every competition. Go to quality over quantity. “You have to make a super Premier League and for that you have to reduce the teams. But we cannot kill the lower divisions or the Premier League itself. From my point of view, that’s something that is so important. It’s not about other benefits, it’s about how important sentimentally it is having your own league for every country.” Uefa’s opposition to a proposed Super League was backed on Friday by the European Commission. “There is no scope for the few to distort the universal and diverse nature of European football,” said Margaritis Schinas, the European Commission vice president. “The European way of life is not compatible with European football being reserved for the rich and the powerful.”

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