Italian Serie A clubs to form a new league to compete with Premier League and Spanish League
Italy’s top football division Serie A is breraking away from the Serie B to form a new league called Lega Calcio Serie A (Serie A Football League), as early as next season and create its own independent league modeled after England’s Premiership, officials said on Thursday. The two divisions have been unable to reach an agreement over finance position and Serie A is set to copy the formation of England’s Premier League. The English Premier League increased its share of television revenue after breaking away from the other divisions in 1992. “The Nineteen Serie A clubs yesterday decided to create the ‘Lega Calcio Serie A’,” said a statement by the new league. “The decision was made because of the impossibility of reaching an understanding with the Serie B clubs” the statement added. 
“We’ve made a new first division league,” Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini told the ANSA news agency. “Am I satisfied? No, but it’s necessary.” Italian clubs have faced widespread criticism after only Udinese, in the UEFA Cup, reached the quarterfinals of a European competition this season. Italian teams have argued that its alliance with Serie B ensures that English and Spanish clubs have more money, and therefore can buy better players and be more competitive.
The new deal primarily allows Serie A teams to negotiate better, and more lucrative, TV deals without worrying that they have to share revenue with smaller clubs. The split also ensures that the 20 clubs will not be forced to bail out Serie B teams whenever they encounter money problems.
Italian top flight clubs (Inter Milan, Juventus and AC Milan) are determined to close the gap on Premier League sides, who have increasingly dominated European competition. The Premier League is the richest in the world and has had three teams in the semi-finals of the Champions League for the last two seasons, while top-flight English sides have been involved in the competitions last four finals.
Maurizio Beretta, a former journalist, was chosen to set up the new league. “The mandate is clear,” he told reporters during a news conference. “To start building a first division. There are various aspects to sort out. The mechanism will be put in place over the next 12 months.”
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