On Friday, February 7th 2020, the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) made a decision to a very arduous lawsuit in regards to the MLS closed system and the potential force of a promotion/relegation system to the top flight soccer league in the United States.
The lawsuit was originally filed by USL-C Miami FC and USL League 2 Kingston Stockade FC in 2017. The lawsuit, which was against FIFA, CONCACAF and the USSF, was intended to end the closed system of the MLS and to stop clubs from paying $200M in franchise fee’s to enter the league.
The ruling that the CAS came to was that for countries registered to FIFA that have never participated in a Promotion/Relegation system, IE the United States and Australia, do not have to participate in the system and can be allowed to use the closed system, even though it is not recommended by FIFA.
The decision that was come to by the CAS, solely based on opinion, is a huge step back for US soccer, but also provides better hope for the USL to take the spot light and hopefully leap frog the MLS in terms of popularity.
Jake Edwards, president of the USL, has publicly come forward in an SI article in 2016 and explained how he dreams of having a promotion/relegation system integrated in the USL.
“The sport is evolving, the sport is changing. What is considered normal now might not be correct in a couple of seasons’ time. How we’re approaching that, and I get asked the question all the time, is the launch of our second league, League One. A lot of focus and attention needs to go into building that league up over a short period of time. But we’ve got to get the right owners in League One, the right stadiums and infrastructure. We’ve got to make sure the quality on the field is at a good standard. You have to create parity as much as you can between the two divisions. Of course, the Championship will be different from League One in many respects, but it can’t be obscenely different.”
Credit to Sports Illustrated: As American Soccer Builds Toward 2026, USL Ramps Up Its Ambition
If you are looking for more from Jake Edwards on his goal of promotion/relegation, here is a great clip of him Landon Donovan sitting down with Tyler Terens during the 2019 USL-C Championship game.
The United Soccer League, for those who are new to following the current second tier league, currently has adopted 3 leagues: tier 2 USL Championship, tier 3 USL League One (where Union Omaha Currently plays in) and tier 4 USL League 2 (once formally known as the NPSL). There are 35 teams in the Championship with 2 expansion teams on their way, followed by 12 in League One, and 82 in League 2, split among 3 conferences.
This makes a grand total of 129 teams in the USL. For reference to top European countries who have a promotion/relegation system, there are 92 professional teams in England, 80 professional teams in Italy (S/O to AC Milan), 307 in Germany (really there are only 56 but the Germany system recognizes 307 because why not?) and Spain has 62.
If England can handle 92 professional soccer teams in a promotion/relegation system, than why can’t the USSF? Why are we always striving to be 3 steps behind the top flight leagues in the world?
For those who might not understand why I am frustrated with this, here is a break down of how the current system works:
In 2019 there were 24 teams in the MLS (Yes there are now 26 teams with the additions of Inter Miami and Nashville SC, but we’ll stick with just the 24 for right now). The 24 teams are split into 2 conferences. The top 8 teams in each conference at the end of the season are sent into a playoff format. This means even if you are in 8th place, you still have a shot of winning the MLS Cup, therefore there is no real weight to losing games other than not having a shot of winning the league.
In all other countries with the exception to Australia they have a promotion and relegation system, which is pretty simple to understand: the bottom 3 teams in each league are all relegated to the next lowest division, and each of the top 3 teams below the top tier division are promoted. For example, if the USL were to adopt a promotion/relegation system, the bottom 3 teams of the Championship would drop to League One, and when Union Omaha wins League One they would be promoted, along with 2nd and 3rd place, to the Championship.
This system just simply adds more weight to the value of winning and losing. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, former striker of LA Galaxy, has called out the MLS on numerous occasions about not having a proper promotion/relegation system, for the same reason as I have mentioned above.
Needless to say, I am beyond disappointed that the CAS has decided against a promotion/relegation system for US soccer as a whole, but I believe that if the USL could adapt such a system, it would boost them in popularity, and it would help us Owls reach that next big step in our new club.
Who Gives A Hoot? 