Revolution in France: Ligue 1 may only have 18 teams

Despite the fact that it is going relatively as planned, Ligue 1 is one of the competitions that is suffering most from the economic punishment caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition to the decline in revenue from COVID-19, the delay in Mediapro's payment for television rights has caused alarm bells to ring in many clubs.

The situation is still not improving on the financial side and Vicent Labrune, recently re-elected as president of the LFP, is considering a drastic option to alleviate the liquidity problems. Reduce Ligue 1 to 18 teams.

"My goal is to make Ligue 1 one of the biggest of the top five leagues in Europe. We have not won an international tournament since 1996, when nine different countries have done so," he told the Journal de Dimanche when questioned about his plan to reorganise French football.

In this way, by reducing the number of teams, Labrune wants to attract new investors and encourage them to spend money on a competition that would be a little more elite and reduced. It remains to be seen what the reaction of the teams will be, especially the smaller ones, which would be the main affected.