Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger urges Premier League to share wealth with smaller clubs
Wenger says there are "too many" clubs in England that must "survive" and offers a possible solution to the crisis facing teams.
Thursday 15 October 2020 22:16, UK
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said the wealth of the Premier League should be more fairly shared out among all professional football clubs in England or some of them may not survive.
Wenger, who is FIFA's chief of global football development, told Sky News presenter Mark Austin: "You have 92 clubs and that is too many to survive in England.
"Why? Today the modern fan supports the national team, supports a big club and supports his local team.
"The local supporters shrink and the smaller clubs have more difficulties to survive. Maybe you have to reduce the number of professional clubs.
"Maybe the second solution is to better share what is coming into the elite with the other clubs."
Wenger, 70, was speaking a day after the Project Big Picture plan proposed by Liverpool and Manchester United last week was unanimously rejected by the 20 Premier League clubs.
Under the scheme, two clubs would have dropped out of the Premier League.
"That is not very brave from people who thought about that for a long time. Suddenly the project, then the next day they vote against their own project," he said.
The former football manager, who was not convinced by the £250m bailout for English Football League (EFL) clubs also outlined in the project, said he believed the entire football league needed restructuring.
But he said it needed be done by "respecting the basis of the competition - that means on sporting merit".
Many clubs are struggling financially during the COVID-19 lockdown, with fans unable to see games and gate receipts - more important to smaller clubs - wiped out.
Last year, before the pandemic, Bury FC went out of business and was expelled from the league.
Others thought to be in danger are Charlton Athletic, Wigan Athletic, Oldham Athletic and Southend United.
The Frenchman also addressed the issue of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) coaches struggling to break through to the top jobs in English football, but said he was not sure whether people were being discriminated against.
He said: "Honestly, I don't know. Sport can be a huge example for society because in sport you don't look at the colour of the skin, you look at how good you are. Sport is based on merit.
"Does racism exist in the stands? Certainly. How do we punish it? That is the question. Today, you have a technical solution, try to identify people and ban them from coming to the game.
"If I am the owner of a club looking to employ a manager, I don't look at the colour of his skin, I look at what he tells me, what is his plan?
"I think it's maybe a matter of time, maybe they don't want to be managers. There are black managers," he said.
Wenger managed Arsenal for 22 years and oversaw more than 1,000 matches, leading them to three league titles and seven FA Cups.