[b]The Premier League insist they are ready to rebel against FIFA plans to cut the number of teams in the English top-flight from 20 to 18.


Football's governing body have voted in principle for all leagues across the world to have no more than 18 clubs per elite division, but Premier League officials claim FIFA have no such power.


FIFA have acted to counter the growing issue over rest periods and players being released for international duty.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter believes an 18-club ceiling will free up more dates for national games and reduce fixture congestion.

He is hoping the format - which would also hit leagues in France, Spain and Italy - to be implemented by the start of the 2007-08 season.

Blatter is convinced the move would be popular with teams, but the Premier League insist their member clubs would vigorously object to the proposal.

Premier League spokesman Dan Johnson told PA Sport: 'Sepp Blatter cannot enforce this. There's only one group of people who decide the make-up of the Premier League and that's the 20 clubs.

'There is no appetite for them as a collective to reduce the size and FIFA cannot force it on us.

'We reduced the size of the league from 22 clubs to 20 in 1995-96, and since then UEFA have expanded the Champions League, FIFA have expanded the World Cup and brought in the Confederations Cup and World Club Championship, so it's a bit rich for anyone to talk about reducing the number of matches.

'We are the only people who have done so.'

Blatter, who announced he would be standing next year for a third term of office - at the end of which he would be 71 - approved a raft of new proposals in a bid to clean up the game.

But the issue of cutting numbers in worldwide leagues stood out.

Like England's Premiership, Spain's Primera Liga, France's Ligue 1 and Italy's Serie A are each made up of 20 teams.

Blatter explained: 'We now have the green light for 18 teams.

'Instead of playing 38 matches in the league, the clubs would only play 34. I can't imagine they would not be pleased.'[/b]




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I also support the 18 team format. If FIFA said it is the best, then it got to be. I guess the English FA are looking at it from money point of view, if it is reduced to 18, players will have more time to play with their national teams.

Too bad!

yeah maybe the fa shud cut out teams wit rude fans or instead of relegation let them cut it to 18 that wud be good

FiFA are full of it!

as stated the premiership already reduced themselves from 20 to 22 and guess what FIFA and UEFA did?

they increased the number of games in thier own competitions!

No way!

The clubs pay the wages, why should they agree so that the players can be playing more games for country than for the club who is paying thier wages??

Blatter talks a lot of crap honestly.

This is the same guy who suggested the widen the goals so that we can have more goals. He wanted to turn Football into Basketball.

His assitant recently suggested that fans take the law into thier own hands and beat up anyone who makes racist comments themselves and stop reporting it to FIFA.