David Dein has suggested that the Premier League should contain just 18 teams. The former Football Association and Arsenal vice president was instrumental in the formation of the league in 1992. When the top flight was reformed that year, it contained 22 teams.
Three years after the Premier League was formed, the division was reduced to the current 20-club format. Although the intentions over the years were to eventually reduce the number of teams to 18, it obviously never happened.
The Premier League should be reduced to 18 teams
“That was a mistake – the FA should have been stronger at the beginning to enforce that,” Dein said in his book Calling The Shots. “Now you see France is down to 18, Germany is down to 18, and I think we have to look at that again. I’m a big believer that that’s the way to go to give us a little bit of extra time on the schedule.”
France’s Ligue 1 currently consists of 20 teams in total. However, they will change to 18 at the start of the 2023/24 campaign. Germany’s Bundesliga, on the other hand, has had 18 clubs every season except once since the 1960s. There were 20 teams playing in Germany’s top flight for the 1991/92 campaign during German reunification.
David Dein criticizes Todd Boehly’s wild ideas
In the book, Dein also shot down Todd Boehly’s idea of ​​bringing an All-Star Game to the Premier League. Chelsea’s new owner was furious when he suggested the proposal earlier this month. “I’m not at all in favor of an All-Star Game,” Dein said. “Obviously he’s very ambitious and Americans are always at the forefront when it comes to marketing, but I think his ideas are a bit premature. My starting point is that every game has to be meaningful.”
Dein currently remains an ambassador for both the FA and the Premier League. As well as helping to create the Premier League in 1992, he also helped in other areas. Dein was a driving force behind the hiring of Sven-Goran Eriksson as head coach of the England national team in 2001.
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