Brussels (AFP)
"Impossible in the short term": the Dutch Football Federation (KNVB) put an end to speculation on the creation in the next three years of a Belgian-Dutch championship.
"The interest is real, the studies continue," said AFP a communications officer of the federation, but "it is for now difficult to say when they will end".
In the daily Le Monde, on October 22, the strongman of FC Brugge Bart Verhaeghe said he was working on the creation of a Belgian-Dutch league to "narrow our gap with the big + + (the 5 major European leagues, ed) and open a market of 28 million consumers ".
"If it's not for next season, probably in the next two," Verhaeghe added.
Saturday, the president of the Pro League (which supervises professional football in Belgium) Peter Croonen qualified his enthusiasm with the agency Belga, ensuring that "no planning" was established.
The project was initiated by the leading clubs of the two countries, six on the Dutch side and five on the Belgian side. The first phase of a feasibility study was completed last week.
"Based on current observations, stakeholders felt that there was scope for a second phase of the study," KNVB said Friday in a statement.
This phase should focus on the format of the competition, its effect on current competitions and clubs.
At this stage, the enthusiasm for a "Beneligue" seems more marked in Belgium than in the Netherlands.
"In itself, there are advantages and disadvantages," said former Dutch player Yuri Mulder Monday on Flemish television.
But, he added, "it will never work in the Netherlands, because it is necessary that 13 of the 18 clubs of Eredivisie (the Dutch championship, ed) are favorable to make a decision".
© 2019 AFP