BELGIUM’S leading clubs have ‘unanimously’ voted in favour of a merger with Dutch football.
The plan for a ‘BeNeLeague’ featuring clubs from both countries has been floated for two years.
But Belgium’s 25 Pro League members all backed the idea at their General Assembly.
The backing now opens the way for detailed talks about the new concept.
In a statement, the clubs said: “The BeNeLeague must go hand in hand with the guarantee of economic stability for other professional clubs.
“That will come through the creation of a national first division championship on the basis of sustainable licensing and competition rules.”
The plans envisages an 18-club league likely to begin with ten Dutch clubs and eight from Belgium.
It is believed it could be worth £350million per year in TV rights.
Both the Dutch Eredivisie and Jupiler Pro league currently gross around £70m per season.
Under current projections, the BeNeLeague would become the sixth-largest league by revenue.
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The Dutch-Belgian league would sit only behind the top-flights in ‘Big Five’ England, Spain, German, Italy and France.
However, the revolutionary move follows concerns that a new European Super League could become reality in the future.
Plans had been drawn up to begin the new format from 2024-25.
But it’s now expected there will be a revamp of the Champions League instead.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
