Big USL News

[drboobay]

American Professional Soccer To Add Promotion–Relegation: Report

While MLS may be hesitant, the USL looks to add promotion and relegation to the American soccer system.

www.si.com

The cited article is behind a pay wall. But the Athletic is a good source. I will bet details coming soon.

 

[Gmoney4WW]

American Professional Soccer To Add Promotion–Relegation: Report

While MLS may be hesitant, the USL looks to add promotion and relegation to the American soccer system.

www.si.com

The cited article is behind a pay wall. But the Athletic is a good source. I will bet details coming soon.

Not for me.

Promotion-Relegation Coming to American Professional Soccer, per Report​

Promotion and Relegation is coming to American professional soccer for the first time, according to a report from The Athletic's Paul Tenorio.

The United Soccer Leagues (USL), representing American professional soccer's second and third tiers, voted to add promotion-relegation to their system. Currently, it is set up with the USL Championship featuring 24 teams and the third-tier USL League One featuring 14 teams.

Many teams are in non-MLS markets, allowing cities a cheaper point of entry for owners and a separate set-up to the 30-team top division. In February, the USL also applied to U.S. Soccer for first-division status, aiming to establish USL Premier, which would be classified as a first division alongside MLS.


If the USL Premier becomes a reality, it will likely have promotion and relegation through three divisions in the USL Championship and USL League 1. At the same time, MLS remains a separate single-entity structure.

As things currently stand, the USSF has strict requirements for professional club standards at each tier, with the top tier needing 12 teams across more than one time zone and stadiums above 15,000. 75% of clubs must also be located within a city with over 1,000,000 people.

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It is unclear when promotion and relegation may be introduced to the USL. Still, the vote clearly indicates the desire to continue shaping the American soccer system beyond MLS, which is structured like other top North American professional leagues without fluid divisions.

While the system may come to the U.S. soon, don’t expect to see Inter Miami or other MLS clubs sent down to the second division. Given lofty expansion fees, franchise values, and ownership structure, MLS is extremely unlikely to adopt another system.

However, the league and its owners will be watching closely, especially after recently dealing with a lawsuit with the North American Soccer League, a previous professional circuit with first-division status, which accused MLS and U.S. Soccer of colluding against them.

The USL Championship and League 1 schedules began on March 8 and continue through their regular seasons until late October.

 

[TU_BLA]

This likely only works with USL Premier becoming an actual thing. And there are plenty of clubs wanting in to the USL Structure. I would not be surprised if they go with a 16 team Premier Division, 20 team USL Championship, and the rest in USL One and I wouldn't be shocked if they adopt a pro/rel system similar to what you see in England's top 3 tiers.

The big question for me is which USL Championship sides have everything in place to jump to Premier now? The 15k stadium capacity is going to leave many of those sides wanting. I can see Louisville in that group for sure. There are sides that can build the teams easily but meeting the other needs is the issue. I would almost guarantee the new OKC team will be jumping in for 2027. They meet several of the requirements with the question being can they fit 15k in Taft or would they build a new pro-soccer specific stadium. Will the Craft's begin to push for a new soccer specific stadium in Tulsa?

The next question is what is the player financial structure going to be. Where's the money coming from to pay those older, outside their prime former Euro and South American players who draw fans and sell merchandise. MLS is plugging along because of players like Messi, Giroud, etc. Trying to be top division soccer with 2nd and 3rd division players will not work for long term sustainability.

And what for teams like FC Tulsa...if they earn promotion will they be allowed to accept it playing in a stadium not acceptable for that level according to USSF? There are a ton of USL Championship stadiums that don't meet that standard.

And jumping the gun a little...Will the Premier champion be on line for a bid to CONCACAF Championship League? That'd be cool...Club America making a trip to play FC Tulsa on a baseball diamond

 

[TulsaRulzOSUdrools]

I don't think they will keep them out for the stadium issue. It is probably for the initial go. Only THREE teams meet the last part. FC Tulsa hasn't been that successful overall. They have made it to the playoffs 3 out of 10 years. I think a soccer-specific stadium helps the atmosphere. Sitting so far back takes away from the vibe so much. I personally really like going to games. It could be better but I like going downtown and taking a stroll. I am sure people bitch about parking but people cry so much about that. I

The premier league has a standard about stadiums where they are supposed to increase capacity after a certain number a years too for the more petite guys. They don't keep them out upon promotion. I think they get fines if they don't make it. I am not sure that has ever happened.

I personally really like going to games. It could be better, but I like going downtown, taking a stroll, eating down there, or grabbing a beer. I know people bitch about parking, but I feel Tulsans will cry about anything that isn't perfect. You have to park far away in tons and tons of professional environments. Thunder games are a prime example of this. Honestly, I am not sure many Tulsans have ever been out of Tulsa. Since I have moved back, that has become more and more evident to me. Oh my god, it is a 10-minute walk! The humanity!