'Not At The Expense Of Domestic Football': Premier League CEO Denies Cutting Of Teams

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) Premier League Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Richard Masters has confirmed the league will not be trimming down on clubs, after reports suggested an 18-team format may be on the cards from the usual 20, despite the overly hectic schedule which has caused many players to speak out over the increasing number of fixtures in the football calendar.

Clubs had three weeks to undergo pre-season training after the end of the FIFA Club World Cup before the 2025-26 season kicks off on August 15.

Masters is all for the growth of the game, but not at the expense of domestic football.'

"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,” said Masters to the BBC.

The newly introduced FIFA Club World Cup has taken away the off-season for a majority of the top clubs and has caused extra pressure on players to perform despite getting very little rest. The new season will once again begin an 11-month cycle, which ends with the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States of America.

Masters said it was not his job to determine the successes of the Club World Cup, but he hopes for proper dialogue between FIFA and all the stakeholders in the future.

"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. 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,” he added.

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