- Italy’s big three, together with the Italian Football Federation, have proposed an 18-team plan
- Serie A itself and most of its seventeen other clubs will oppose their plans
- The Italian top flight had 18 teams until it was expanded for the 2004–05 season
Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan have reportedly proposed reducing the number of clubs in Serie A from 20 to 18.
The league’s three most historically successful clubs have backed a plan initially proposed by Gabriele Gravina, president of the Italian Federation (FIGC).
However, the majority of other Serie A clubs are against the proposal.
Skysport Italy reported that Inter CEO Beppe Marotta plus Juventus general manager Maurizio Scanavino and director Francesco Calvo met Gravina at the federation’s headquarters to discuss the matter.
Milan President Paolo Scaroni joined the meeting via video conference call.
Inter Milan and AC Milan are backing a proposal to reduce Serie A from twenty clubs to just eighteen
Juventus also supports the plan, which the big three say would increase the quality of the competition
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The discussions about reducing the size of Italy’s top division come ahead of an extraordinary FIGC meeting on March 11 where a restructuring will be debated.
Serie A expanded from 18 to 20 clubs ahead of the 2004-05 season and the big three claim that downsizing the club again would alleviate the overcrowded fixture list and increase the quality of football on offer.
The German Bundesliga and the French Ligue 1 have 18 clubs, while the English Premier League and LaLiga in Spain have 20.
Other Serie A clubs and the league itself will oppose the proposals from the big three and FIGC.
Inter currently sit at the top of the table, four points ahead of Juventus, while Milan are a further four points back in third. There is then a 10-point lead over Atalanta in fourth place.
Before Napoli’s Scudetto win last season, you had to go back to 2001 for the last time Juventus, Inter or Milan didn’t win the title.
Juventus have a total of 36 championship victories, while Inter and Milan have 19 each.
Napoli’s Scudetto victory last season was a rare interlude in the dominance of Italy’s big three