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La Liga boss attacks Fifa plan

The head of La Liga has attacked a plan to create global tournaments as 'totally irresponsible', saying it would severely damage football in countries around the world.

Fifa has been looking for ways to reduce its dependence on the World Cup as a source of funds. It is in talks with a consortium of international investors, led by Japan's Soft Bank, to expand the Club World Cup. This is an annual competition played by seven of the globe's top teams. This would be replaced by a tournament for 24 clubs held every four years, as well as a new league for national teams. The tournament would be dominated by European clubs who would supply at least 12 of the competing teams.

Javier Tebas has called on Fifa to scrap the proposals, although they are backed by the country's two biggest clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona. The £2bn prize money may be a factor in their support.

Tebas said that an enlarged Club World Cup would further concentrate wealth in Europe's top teams. That would damage the competitiveness of national leagues, making then less attractive to broadcasters and sponsors.

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