Holland and Belgium ‘want to merge leagues’ in radical European change to increase teams to 18 for £340m TV rights – The Sun

HOLLAND and Belgium could MERGE their football leagues in a radical move to generate £340m TV revenue.

According to German magazine Kicker, discussions are ongoing to create an 18-team top flight that would be named the BeNe League.

Accountants Deloitte have predicted that the new set-up could bring in £340m from TV rights.

This would see the creation of the sixth-largest league by revenue, behind England, Spain, German, Italy and France.

Club Brugge CEO Bart Verhaeghe, one of the clubs who commissioned the study, told Kicker: "We cannot ignore the new reality.

"Sooner or later, there will be a European Super League with games between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid on Sundays."

Belgium's Jupiler Pro League currently consists of 16 teams, some of which struggle to attract more than 5,000 fans per game.

EUROPEAN SUPER LEAGUE NEXT?

There are fears these smaller teams would be cut off if the 'BeNe League' goes ahead while the national team has flourished under the existing set-up.

The revolutionary move follows concerns that a new European Super League could become reality in the future.

SunSport reported in December how Spanish giants Real Madrid are keen for it to happen.

President Florentino Perez has given his backing for Los Blancos to quit the domestic scene and join the elite in their own full-season.

Perez has spoken to Fifa president Gianni Infantino to outline his vision, which would include two separate leagues with 20 teams in each.

It would also mean there would be a promotion and relegation format that is designed to bring through huge amounts of revenue.

Plans have been drawn up to begin the new format after 2024.

The Champions League is set to undergo major changes at that time, with the new format featuring four groups of eight teams.

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