English Football League cancels talks over 100-team plan for five divisions

Plans for a shake-up of English football to create 100 teams in five divisions have been cancelled after talks between the English Football League and the Football Association broke down.

The EFL said in May it wanted to create an extra division and have 20 teams in each from 2019-20.

The plans required the English football authorities to find additional weekends for league football.

The FA says it is no longer viable.

The EFL, which currently has 72 teams - 24 each in the Championship, League One and League Two - said the move would tackle fixture congestion and boost the finances of its members.

The rescheduling would have involved moving FA Cup fixtures into midweek slots, but the FA has informed the EFL it is no longer prepared to consider such a move following a new international broadcasting deal.

"If the weekend slots are not available, then there is simply no way we can meet the financial conditions as outlined at the very outset," said EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey.

"The stance the FA has adopted has brought the discussions to a premature end, before fully understanding what the financial outcome from the creation of a new distribution model could be. "

Harvey said the EFL would still welcome a change in the FA's position.

"We are, of course, open to re-engaging in what is a hugely important debate that was designed to help shape the future of football in this country," he added.