There "will be 22 teams" in Spain's second division this season -- including promoted club Mirandés, "but not" Real Murcia, according to the EFE. The Spanish Football League (LFP) announced the news on Monday and also revealed that the second division will "begin this weekend." LFP President Javier Tebas confirmed that Mirandés "will be the team that plays in the second division," while Murcia will compete in the third tier. Tebas: "Being a league of 22 clubs, for us Mirandés has the right to be included and it will be among the 22 clubs that will compete on the first matchday of the second division." The LFP "had ratified on July 7 its decision to relegate Murcia for failing to meet debt ratios, although an appeal from the club caused a Madrid court to rule in Murcia's favor." Tebas said, "The judge's demand, as of today, is impossible to meet. This is a house with limited space, for 22 clubs." Tebas confirmed that "he had not been in contact with Murcia." Minutes earlier, after a meeting of its Delegate Committee, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) "had confirmed that the athletic calendar for the second division would not be modified," meaning the first games of the season will be played Saturday and Sunday (EFE, 8/18).
