New day for American soccer: USL plans promotion-relegation era
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Charlotte Independence, a USL club, play at the American Legion Memorial Stadium. Photo: Andy Weber/Axios
United Soccer League owners voted this week to introduce promotion and relegation by 2028 as they prepare to launch a new top-tier soccer league.
Why it matters: This is a huge move in the U.S. soccer landscape, rewarding teams that perform well with promotion to a higher league. Teams that perform poorly will face relegation to a lower league.
Context: Last month the USL announced plans to launch a Division One league in 2027-28. It is intended to rival Major League Soccer as the top tier for the men's game in the U.S.
- USL currently has two existing leagues: USL Championship (second division) and USL League One (third Division).
How it works: With the existing USL Championship (second division) and USL League One (third division), USL Division One (first division) would create a pyramid structure for promotions and relegations.
- It is unclear what the exact layout for promotion and relegation will look like, such as the number of teams that will be promoted and relegated each season, or if there will be financial incentives for promotion.
Between the lines: Promotion and relegation is common outside the U.S., including in England's Premier League.
- In the Premier League, the bottom three teams are relegated to the Championship. The Championship's top two teams are automatically promoted, and the winner of playoffs between teams finishing third to sixth gets the third promotion spot.
- If you're among the millions of people who watched "Ted Lasso" on Apple TV+, you've already been exposed to the concept.
Zoom out: Major League Soccer is the existing top-tier men's league in the U.S. It also has a third division league, MLS Next Pro, under its umbrella. MLS does not include promotion and relegation.
- Some fans have criticized MLS for not having promotion and relegation, Forbes reported.
- This isn't the first time USL has launched a rival top-tier league. It launched its women's league, USL Super League, last summer.
What they're saying: "Now, just as it is in the global game, more communities in America can aspire to compete at the highest level of soccer," Alec Papadakis, CEO of the United Soccer League, said in a statement. "It's time."
