Belgium/Netherlands: toward a "BeNeLiga" combined league with 18 clubs (10 Dutch and 8 Belgian)

"We are creating a league with the Netherlands that will open up a market of 28 million consumers (about 17 million people in the Netherlands and 11 million in Belgium). A new meeting is scheduled this week (Friday 25/10/2019). The championship should include 18 clubs, including 8 Belgian clubs. Things can move quickly. If not for next season (2020-21), probably in the next two (2021-22 and 2022-23)," said Bart Verhaeghe, president of Club Brugge KV (Jupiler Pro League), to the French daily Le Monde on 23/10/2019.

This "BeNeLiga" ("Be" for Belgium and "Ne" for Netherlands) would copy the concept applied to ice hockey since 2015 when the "BeNe League" combined six Dutch clubs and five Belgian clubs in 2019-20.

"The most important thing is that we are working on it, we don't necessarily want to set a deadline. The television rights contract in Belgium has nearly ended (end of 2019-20), but not in the Netherlands (end of 2023-24), so we need to think about it, but the aim is to anticipate the reform of European football in 2024," stressed Bart Verhaeghe.

The idea is not new, as it has…