May 20 – The biggest shake-up in the English professional football pyramid since the Premier League was set up in 1992 has been proposed, with a new fifth division of 20 clubs from 2019-20.
It would mean England has 100 teams in five divisions, up from 92. There are currently 20 teams in the top flight and 24 in the Championship, League One and League Two.
The Football League says the move would tackle fixture congestion and boost revenues and apparently has the backing of the English Football Association “in principle”.
Of the current 72 Football League clubs, 90% must support the proposal for it to go ahead. A decision will be made at their annual general meeting in June 2017.
“There are clear benefits for everyone,” Football League chief executive Shaun Harvey told the BBC. “It is about taking a step back to try to work out what is best for English football. We hope that the Football League taking this first step is the catalyst for future change.”
However, the proposal has attracted mixed reaction from the clubs themselves, with one branding the idea “ridiculous” while how the promotion/relegation system would work during 2018-19 is still to be determined.
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