The owners of the United Football League voted on Tuesday To implement a promotion and relegation system Among the multiple male divisions of USL, a historic first for professional football – and all sports – in the United States
The European “pro-religious” model, by which clubs gain a promotion to leagues or a more prestigious relegation to lower leagues by finishing at the top or bottom of their current leagues, is common in world football. But the North American sports leagues – the NFL, the NBA, the MLB and also the major leagues – have always been “closed” entities; Franchises have a fixed place, and the only way to join the League, which works like a cartel, is to find rich owners who will buy their way.
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USL, to some extent, wants to change this. He currently operates two professional leagues, which are in the second and third levels of American male football – below the high -level male line, MLS. But the USL announced last month He intends to add a new Division 1 League in 2027; And Wednesday, he said that he would create “a professional football system with three interconnected levels” with a promotion and a relegation, carrying his three leagues by 2028.
The system would exist separately from MLS, which is much more established than USL. MLS clubs are much richer and more popular. They generally do not feel threatened by the modest growth of the USL, and they do not have an incentive or obligation to integrate into the Pro-Rel system of the USL.
The medium-term future, instead, would be one in which there are two distinct men's football leagues in the United States.
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One, MLS, would remain closed – and probably dominant, with better players and more money, in the foreseeable future.
The other, USL, would be semi-open; The owners could still buy their path and start expansion teams, but the clubs could also go up in Division 1 of the USL by winning the second -level USL championship. (And they could get into the second level championship by winning the third -level USL League One.)
Will the USL pro-religion system “do it reshape football”?
The introduction of fluid, the “” pyramid “interconnected will reshape the future of professional football in the United States,” said USL in its press release. This could be a boon for the development of players, as it will give more children in more cities across the country a somewhat direct path of a well -resourked academy at a high -level league.
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It will also be celebrated by the longtime supporters of Pro-Rel, who praised the open meritocratic nature of the system and the intense competition it creates. This will give the USL a distinct marketing argument: fans, like the president of the USL, Paul McDonough, said it in a statement, are “attracted by the intensity of the competition with high issues, where more matches have real consequences – just as we see in the European leagues”.
The big question is whether McDonough is right. Does the drama of promotion and relegation battles, and the feeling that each game counts – unlike MLS – prevails for the quality of the relatively low game? Will this attract new fans and, more importantly, will he attract broadcasters and business partners-which, in turn, would allow clubs to spend more for players and raise the quality of the game?
It is essentially the great bet of the USL – and the great unknown.
A pro-relief system would also present challenges. The entire concept of division 1, 2 and 3 leagues is in fact a formal distinction governed by the The Standards of the Pro League of the American Football Federation. These PLs require a D1 League and its clubs to meet a variety of requirements, including some finance linked, market size and stadium size. Some promoted clubs, in theory, may find it difficult to satisfy these standards – thus complicating USL plans, or forcing football to modify or even revise the PLS.
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And some relegated clubs, on the other hand, having spent large funds to comply with the standards of Division 1, could fight financially if their income drops while their teams fall into the second or third divisions.
This concern, however, is more acute in countries like England, where gigantic television contracts grant Premier League clubs, huge centralized income actions – shares that then disappear if a team is relegated. USL clubs, on the other hand, have a much higher degree on localized sources of income, such as ticket sales.
And the advantage, the attraction of pro-reality, prevailed over these concerns. Although the vote was not unanimous, a supermajority of owners – 90%, McDonough said to the Guardian – Voted in favor of the adoption of the global system. Its implementation in the coming years could be one of the most important developments in the modern era of American male football.
How will pro-religion work in the USL?
What exactly the vote on Tuesday and creations will be determined in the coming months and years.
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The owners approved Pro-Rel in principle. But they have not decided how many teams will be promoted and relegated each season. They have not been satisfied with financial mechanisms which will be necessary to soften the relegation stroke. On Tuesday, they had not asked for official blessings from USL Players Association American football.
They have had in -depth discussions in terms of many years. These discussions intensified last month and led to Tuesday's vote. But, as McDonough said to the Guardian, “we recognize that there is a lot of work to do.”
To start, they must operate the USL division. This will require still unidentified owners' commitments – which could, in some cases, be put off by pro -relief because they would buy a D1 league which could then demot them to a lower level.
A successful launch of the One Division is far from guaranteed. And a successful implementation of this interconnected pro-religious system is therefore even less certain. Important obstacles remain. Many things could change over the next two years, despite the firmness of the splashing announcement on Wednesday.
The USL, in conclusion, said: “More details will be shared in the coming months, because the League is working closely with clubs, partners and stakeholders to implement this historic change.”
