Proposal for cup competition

[Giuseppe Fossone]

As has already been noted, there is a vast quality gap between Serie A and Serie B. To try and combat this, I propose that we institute a new cup competition. This competition would involve the 16 clubs from the top three divisions that did not qualify for the Champions' League. The clubs would be drawn into four groups of four, where they play each team once. After the conclusion of the group stage, all 16 teams advance to the knockout stage where they are guaranteed at least one game (or two games if they finished in the top two of their group).

A potential schedule for this competition would be:
Games 1-3: Group Stage
Game 4a: Qualifying Round (group winners and runners-up)
Game 4b: Elimination Round (3rd and 4th place in group)
Game 5: Play-off Round (Qualifying losers v Elimination winners)
Game 6: Quarter-finals (Qualifying winners v Play-off winners)
Game 7: Semi-finals
Game 8: Final

[Marco Pittori]

This idea seems prospective on paper; however to fully understand this proposal, how will it aim to reduce the gap between these divisions?

[Giuseppe Fossone]

By allowing the lower division clubs to play more games against higher level opponents, it will aim to provide them with valuable match experience.