The Premiership is poised for a showdown with FIFA after football's governing body voted for all leagues to have no more than 18 clubs per elite division.

The Premier League will oppose any attempt to throw two clubs out of the most watched league in the world.

But FIFA president Sepp Blatter believes an 18-club ceiling will free up more dates for national games and reduce fixture congestion.

He is hoping the format - which would also hit leagues in France, Spain and Italy - will be implemented by the start of the 2007-08 season.