The Netherlands and Belgium are planning a revolution in European football. The Dutch Eredivisie and the Belgian Jupiler Pro League are in talks to merge their leagues to create a new 18 team league, according to Kicker.
"We cannot ignore the new reality," Club Brugge CEO Bart Verhaeghe said to Kicker. "Sooner or later, there will be a European Super League with games between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid on Sundays."
The consulting company Deloitte has calculated that a so-called BeNe League could generate in the region of €400 million a year in television revenue. In comparison, both the Dutch and Belgium top leagues earn about €80 million a season in television revenue at the moment.
A merger would create the sixth-largest league by television revenue, behind England, Spain, Germany, Italy, and France. The Deloitte study was commissioned by Gent, Club Brugge, KRC Genk, RSC Anderlecht, and Standard Liège from Belgium and Ajax, AZ Alkmaar, Utrecht, Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven and Vitesse.
The eleven top clubs want a league with 18 teams, ten from the Netherlands and eight from Belgium. Those numbers would remain stable with the two lowest-ranked teams from each country to be relegated at the end of the season, replaced by the respective national champions.
Some questions remain, however. Fans would be required to travel greater distances—although distances within Belgium and the Netherlands would still be small in comparison to other European countries. "We are not enthusiastic," Matthijs Keuning from the Dutch Supporters said. "A lot of questions, very few answers," Eddy Janssis from Belgian Supporters added.
Another question is what will happen to UEFA spots. Would the league be categorized as a single national championship, or would the two countries continue to send their respective national representatives?
Finally, Twente Enschede, the fourth most popular club by fan volume in the Netherlands, were not part of any talks, and not surprising upset with the talks. The same can be said about club officials from Sparta Rotterdam, Heracles Almelo, and Heerenveen, who were also opposed to a potential merger.
And UEFA? The European football governing body has not yet been presented with plans for a potential merger and will not comment at the time.