By Jaroslaw Adamowski
May 18 – The Romanian football league association, LPF, has announced plans to drop the number of teams competing in Liga 1, the top tier of the league, from the current 18 clubs to 14. The streamlined league will come into effect for the 2015/2016 season.
The structure of the second tier Liga II will also to be overhauled, with its current two divisions comprising 12 clubs each, expected to be replaced by a unified division consisting of 20 teams.
The planned reform is designed to increase the competitiveness and prestige of the Romanian top tier, according to local pundits.
Under the current system, six out of 18 clubs competing in the Liga I are relegated each season. However, starting in the 2015/2016 season, this will be replaced by a system closer to other European leagues with the bottom two teams being relegated to Liga II and replaced by the top two teams of the second tier. The club finishing 12th in Liga I will play off against the third-placed team in Liga II.
The LFP proposal has the backing of some of the biggest Romanian clubs, including Steaua Bucharest, which recently secured the Romanian championship in the 2013/2014 season, and Astra Giurgiu.
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