Owners of major clubs, like Manchester City, would prefer the high stakes of the current format, as opposed to splitting the revenue with an extra 32 teams.
The Treasury also hopes that by channelling more money into what's known as capital spending as opposed to current spending, this can create a more favourable economic environment.
He also claimed that a key minister in the current UK cabinet had opposed talking to Sinn Fein when John Major was prime minister (he didn't name him but you didn't need to engage in any secret contacts to work out he was talking about Kenneth Clarke).