Blatter wants 16-team national leagues

FIFA president Sepp Blatter believes top national leagues should be cut to 16 teams to give players more rest. "Having 16 teams in every national league would be ideal," said Blatter in an interview with German daily Bild. "The market and the players...

FIFA president Sepp Blatter believes top national leagues should be cut to 16 teams to give players more rest.

"Having 16 teams in every national league would be ideal," said Blatter in an interview with German daily Bild.

"The market and the players cannot sustain so much soccer in the long run."

The Bundesliga has 18 teams while 20 teams play in the English Premier League and France's Ligue 1.

Blatter said FIFA should force leagues to cut the number of teams and the issue should be discussed in 2007.

"A lot of clubs are in favour of such a move. But they say FIFA has to order it - otherwise it will never happen. They can have it if they want," Blatter said.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.