The United Soccer League is making moves to compete more directly with Major League Soccer, giving Phoenix Rising a chance to level up Arizona's professional soccer scene.

The big picture: USL owners voted last 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, with the potential to "raise the stakes" of every match and provide clear growth pathways for clubs, Phoenix Rising president Bobby Dulle said in a press release.

• It also incentivizes long-term investment in clubs, he added.

How it works: The new system will reward teams that perform well with promotion to a higher league.

• Teams that do poorly will face relegation to a lower league.

Context: The USL last month 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.

• With the existing second-division USL Championship (the Rising's current league) and third-division USL League One, USL Division One 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 move up or down each season, or if there will be financial incentives for promotion.

The intrigue: The Rising would have qualified for promotion two years ago when they won the United Soccer League Championship had the new system been in place then.

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.

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🐱 UofA will play Duke in the Sweet 16 after beating Oregon 87-83 in the second round of the NCAA tournament last night. (Arizona Daily Star)

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Two Valley brothers created a game to expose young people to the plights of their communities and get them into the volunteer pipeline.

Why it matters: Teens often have more free time to meet nonprofit needs, but they're less likely to know how to find volunteer or charitable giving opportunities.

How it works: The Giving Game — started by Talin, 15, and Anik Bhow, 12, last year — features presentations about local nonprofits by kids, for kids.

• Children and teens make a $50 donation to participate in the annual event.
• Young people who benefit from the services provided by five featured nonprofits give a two-minute pitch to their peers about how the organization impacts people like them.
• Each audience member gets five coins to vote for how they want their donation to be spent. The donation pot is divided based on votes.

How it happened: When the Bhow brothers were researching volunteer opportunities last year, they learned that many of their friends had direct connections with local organizations.

• Talin and Anik told us they wanted to create a platform for kids and teens to recognize the challenges of other young people — and so The Giving Game was born.

What they're saying: "You think about it more if a kid who is your age is telling their story," Anik said. "You're like, 'Well, if I had that [condition], what would my life be like?' And you feel this thing where you just want to help them."

Between the lines: The event is more about raising awareness than money, the Bhows said.

• By making it into a game, they force attendees to reflect on the presentations and think about what causes they are most passionate about, Talin said.

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