The President of the Professional Football League, Gino Iorgulescu (69 years old), announced at the end of the year the intention to change the structure of the Super League, by reducing the number of participants. The LPF official believes that a championship with 12 teams would be more appropriate in the current context, marked by financial difficulties and infrastructure problems at the level of several clubs.
According to Iorgulescu, one of the direct consequences of such a change would be the tightening of licensing criteria, which could create difficulties for teams that aim to compete with top teams such as FCSB, Rapid, Dinamo or Universitatea Craiova.
“We should do a 12-team championship. As you can see, there are not many teams, there are no stadiums, there are no conditions. And we are going to go to the licensing, to put much tougher conditions so that it can work in League 1“, said Gino Iorgulescu, according to ProSport.
The LPF president explained that a smaller number of teams could offer better flexibility in the calendar, especially during periods when Romanian clubs are involved in European competitions.
“There’s another problem! When they play in the European cups, we no longer have data to postpone some matches. If there were fewer teams, we would have enough data“, stated Iorgulescu.
“The money is divided into less and there is more. And they can take more valuable players”added the head of the LPF.
Currently, the Superliga is contested by 16 teams, six of which reach the play-offs, and the other ten play-outs.
Two teams are directly relegated to League 2, while two others participate in playoffs for retention or promotion to the Super League.
Gino Iorgulescu’s proposal to reduce the Superliga to 12 teams, maintaining the play-off and play-out format, generated immediate reactions from important clubs, such as FCSB, Rapid and CFR Cluj. All three formations expressed reservations or opposition to the version advanced by the LPF president.
