Lega Calcio CEO Dismisses Cutting Serie A Teams Down To 18 As “Lose 20% Of Sporting Events”

Lega Calcio CEO Luigi De Siervo has shut down talks of reducing Serie A from 20 to 18 teams.

During his latest interview via FCInterNews, De Siervo addressed recent speculation regarding a new league format.

Per De Siervo, downsizing would significantly harm the competition’s value and overall appeal.

However, there have been strong indications that several clubs support the idea of reducing the number of participants.

Indeed, there’s a belief that a new format would ease fixture congestion and improve competitiveness.

Meanwhile, several elite divisions have already undergone similar changes.

For example, Germany’s Bundesliga and France’s Ligue 1 both operate with 18 teams.

While that has long been the norm in Germany, France’s top flight only adopted the 18-team format in 2023.

Despite growing speculation, Serie A will not follow suit.

Instead, De Siervo remains adamant that maintaining a 20-team league is essential to preserving the league’s integrity.

Luigi De Siervo Downplays Serie A Cut Talks

VERONA, ITALY – NOVEMBER 23: Giuseppe Marotta of FC Internazionale during the Serie A match between Verona and FC Internazionale at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi on November 23, 2024 in Verona, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

“For the three major leagues – the English, Spanish, and Italian – the idea of staying at 20 teams convinces us at this moment,” Luigi De Siervo confirmed.

“Because if we were to reduce it to 18, we would lose around 20% of sporting events, as well as a certain level of representation tied to major cities and regions.

“That would accelerate the compression of value and interest in national leagues in favor of major European competitions.

“We’ve had the merit and good fortune in recent years of allowing Italian teams to go deep in European competitions.

“However, that won’t necessarily always be the case.

“Imagine if all our fans’ expectations were placed solely on European cups,” he added.

“For years, as you know, we didn’t achieve the results we deserved or hoped for,” De Siervo concluded.

Apart from Inter Milan’s Champions League exploits in the past three years, Serie A clubs have massively struggled at Europe’s top table.