FIFA are believed to be exploring a major revamp of football that could have posed an existential threat to Everton last season.
The 2023-24 campaign was characterised by near constant turmoil behind the scenes for the Toffees.
The club was hit by two separate points deductions against a backdrop of uncertainty regarding a would-be takeover by 777 Partners.
That deal hit the rocks over a year ago but has only just collapsed altogether after the Miami-based groupfailed to meet a deadline to prove they could fund the club going forward.
But, even with all that uncertainty and chaos, things still could have been a lot worse for the Merseysiders had FIFA pressed ahead with its controversial plan just a year earlier.
FIFA plot to cut Premier League would have relegated Everton
As reported by The Sun, there are fears in football that FIFA want to reduce major leagues around the world to 18 teams.
The apparent initiative is believed to be a knock-on effect of FIFA’s new expanded Club World Cup, which will feature 32 teams from 2025.
That tournament would further clutter an already bloated fixture calendar, hence the possibility of reducing the Premier League and others to 18 teams to offset the additional matches.
Had that happened in 2022-23, then Everton would have been relegated last summer.
The Toffees ultimately beat the drop by just two points, one point above the relegation zone.
That would have wiped £100m off their revenue overnight and, with the cub facing other financial issues concurrently, would have posed a real threat to their ability to continue.
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Where next for Everton takeover?
Thankfully, FIFA’s plan has not come to fruition – at least not yet.
Everton would hope that, if world football’s governing body did impose such a measure, they would be one of the sides whose league position meant they aren’t susceptible to the drop.
But for that to happen, Farhad Moshiri needs to find an investor who can take them forward.
MSP Sports Capital and Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor are the two most likely candidates at this stage.
And the existing business relationship between Textor and his fellow Palace shareholder David Blitzer could pave the way form Textor to launch a takeover bid.
And the latest news from Blitzer’s football outpost in Germany could spark a chain reaction that sees Textor assume control.