Proposals have been put forward by the Football League that, if accepted by its member clubs, would see the introduction of an extra division.

In an announcement made on Thursday, the league suggested making alterations to the current top four division structure that would see the biggest shake-up to English football since the creation of the Premier League in 1992.

It has proposed that the current set-up of a Premier League and three Football League divisions, made up of 92 clubs in total, change to a Premier League and four divisions each made up of 20 teams from the 2019/20 season.

That would see an increase to 100 teams, though for this to be approved would need the support of 90 per cent of clubs – 65 of the 72 in the Football League – with no vote due to take place before the summer of next year.

This league believes that the move would help tackle fixture congestion, but says that it is ‘offering no recommendation other than asking clubs to give the matter their full consideration’.

The league believes that changes would ‘maximise the number of weekend and Bank Holiday fixtures’ but critics have voiced concerns about clubs losing four homes games and with it the income from those matches.