Italy’s Serie A will uphold its current format of 20 teams following a league assembly that dismissed a proposal by the country’s major clubs to reduce the number of participants to 18.
In a statement issued after the meeting at its Milan headquarters, Serie A affirmed the continuation of the 20-team setup.
“The league’s current format of 20 teams has been confirmed”, the statement read.
Reports from Italian media indicate that Inter Milan, Juventus, AC Milan, and Roma were the only four clubs in favor of the proposal, while the remaining 16 clubs voted against it.
The discussion to decrease the number of teams in Italy’s top flight has been ongoing, driven by the escalating number of games played by top clubs and players.
Despite upcoming changes in the Champions League format, where teams will face two additional matches before reaching the knockout stages, Serie A’s smaller clubs resisted the notion of a smaller division, seeing it as catering solely to the demands of the major clubs.
Lecce president Saverio Sticchi Damiani voiced opposition to the proposal, stating, “I’m against it just like all the other medium and small clubs are. I don’t understand why we should deny so many teams their chance to dream.”
Serie A also announced the approval of reforms to Italian football, which it plans to present to the country’s governing federation, FIGC, next month.
