By Andrew Warshaw
September 6 – A new women’s transnational league featuring teams from Belgium and the Netherlands has been given the green light by UEFA, evoking the so-called men’s Atlantic League several years ago that never got off the ground.
European football’s governing body has given its approval for a three-year trial of the 16-team BeNe League, which, if successful, could pave the way for the men’s game to follow suit and allow smaller countries to form their own revenue-building competition.
The BeNe League will see Belgian and Dutch teams first playing their own rivals before the top four and bottom four from each country are pitched against each other.
“As two little countries together we will be more powerful,” BeNe League spokeswoman Ingrid Vanherle said in an interview.
“All eyes are on us to see if it’s successful.”
A decade ago, plans for a breakaway Atlantic League involving teams from Scotland, Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands collapsed over how they would qualify for UEFA competitions.
In recent years hardly any lower-ranked sides in the men’s game have been able to challenge the elite and UEFA hopes the new women’s league will give the game a much-needed boost.
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