By Mark Baber
April 25 – Italian football federation vice-president Demetrio Albertini has suggested cutting Italy’s Serie A to 18 or even 16 teams.
Speaking on radio, Albertini (who was on the field when Milan beat Barcelona 4-0 in the Champions League final in 1994) said: “The reduction in the number of teams in Serie A must be a way forward to a reduction in costs, but above all to make the championship even more exciting.”
Serie A had 16 teams from 1967 before being increased to 18 in 1998 and then to 20 in 2004.
Regarding the recent suggestion clubs should be allowed a third non-EU player in every transfer session, supported by Serie A President Maurizio Beretta, Albertini said: “At the moment nobody has put forward an official request. If we do receive a proposal, then we’ll discuss it within the Federation.”
Meanwhile, the date of the Coppa Italia final has been set for Sunday May 26, with Roma yesterday drawn as the home team against Lazio. There has been some controversy over the kick-off time due to law and order concerns after previous clashes in the Rome derby and logistical problems due to local elections on the same day.
Last year 58 countries televised the Juventus-Napoli final with 11,580,620 viewers tuning into RAI 1.
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