Needs to happen if we ever want to spread the excitement around

Pro/Rel is the absolute key to football's status around the world. It makes ALL the games meaningful. It gives fans of teams on the edge massive reason to remain engaged throughout the season. The parachute payments for going down make it financially doable. The closed system might be good for owners but is terrible for fans.

I’ve been saying for years we need this

MLS needs a promotion and relegation system. The game will develop more and teams and players will grow in the US.

If the MLS includes promotion/relegation to the USL I might actually start following as a European

The MLS needs it but it will never be implemented. The owners won't accept the change as it lowers their minimum revenue and for a league that has a buy in of around half a billion its just not gonna happen.

This is how to do a promotion/relegation in MLS. If the last two losing teams in each division subject to relegation, then they can play a face off that determines who stays in MLS. The winner stays and the loser gets relegated.

It wont happen unless the league pays the expansion fees back

It would be nice if the criteria for US Open Club qualification was set and not altered year to year. We follow a Tier 4 NPSL club (Kingston Stockade FC) and thought we were on the bubble to get in this year, but now I’m seeing clubs below us in the League Standings in the tournament and don’t really understand why.

The day that promotion and relegation is finally approved and implemented into MLS will be the day football ⚽️ (not soccer) in America will be watched by so many more millions of fans! It needs to happen. Should’ve happened years ago.

Correct. You would need to create an alternate league to MLS if you want pro rel. Now who is going to pay for it?

We'll move to the metric system before we move to the Pro-Rel system here in the U.S.

Inter Miami will relegate to second division if this happen.

Just found out Jimmy Conrad is here nice!

Absolutely not. This is the United States. Not Europe or South America. It won't work here. It would only close the doors to getting more fans of other sports to like soccer here in the USA. And MLS and soccer will never be No. 1 in the USA if they do it. Normal sports fans in the USA don't have to deal with their team getting relegated in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL. Why would they want that possibility for their favorite soccer club if they were to get their feet wet and pick a favorite? They wouldn't. I know TONS of people that wouldn't care anything about that. It just won't work.

Relegation is a thing for which you are not culturally prepared. And maybe that's why the league will never reach the others in the world, because it's not a league but a closed cup. It works in your domestic sports because there is no parallel to them in the rest of the world, but growing in soccerl is something you will only be ready for with relegation and promotion.

I doubt it. That would mean that MLS would have to become something that I’m not embarrassed to tell my other soccer friends about lol. Fr tho, mls owners haven’t been investing millions to grow the game, they only care about growing their pockets. No owner who just spent $200M+ on starting a top tier club would volunteer the chance to not be in the first division anymore. I guarantee they all laugh this topic out the room every time it’s brought up. It doesn’t matter how much of a positive impact it would have on the sport. They have nothing to gain monetarily from it, so it will not happen. Simple as that. It’s not the same as other parts of the world. Soccer for these owners is a business scheme, tax write off, and maybe something you bring the grandkids to. I’ve never heard literally anything from a single mls owner that gave me any indication that they are even remotely interested in the sport. Their club usually doesn’t even make the top 20 most expensive things they own. As a galaxy fan for over a decade, I think I’ve seen Phil anshutz twice. I’ve literally seen them hoist trophies more often then I’ve seen what the owner looks like. I’m legitimately not even sure he remembers that he has a team lol

Promotion and relegation system has no benefits and only causes losses. 1.Profit and popularity are the most important If a popular team gets relegated, the popularity of the first division. Profit decreases. In fact, after relegation, Leicester City lost more than 100 million pounds in revenue. In the German league, Hertha Berlin and Schalke are in the second division, and Heidenheim and Bochum are in the first division. What help does it have for the 1st division? Real.Barça.Bayern.PSG are more valuable teams than the league. 2.Anyway, the strong team always wins . For example, Barça or Real. Munich, PSG, Manchester City, Liverpool, Inter, Juventus, etc. always win the league. Do you think the EPL promoted team will advance to the Champions League? 3.Player moves abroad Naturally, if you are demoted, your profits will decrease and your salary will be reduced. Then all the players will leave. When the team was relegated, famous players such as Ward Prowse (Southampton-West Ham) (Tielemans Leicester Aston Villa) transferred. In particular, when a famous star moves overseas, the league's popularity takes a hit. With huge investment from Saudi Arabia. Famous players such as Ronaldo Benzema and Neymar moved to the Saudi League, Coutinho, Verratti, and Draxler moved to the Qatar League, and Messi, Busquets, Suarez, and Alba moved to MLS Of course, these players were not transferred due to relegation. .To be honest.why do we need a promotion system in the league? There are many disadvantages to popularity, profits, and investment. Seriously, is there any advantage

I am a Crew fan, this just sounds like another plan to get ride of us.

Adding promotion and relagation is key to MLS success they have 30+ teams so i really dont see the issue

MLS Relegation 2023 = Miami, Galaxy, Toronto, and Colorado (2 per conf). Yeah, that would really make MLS more exciting, No Messi, No Galaxy.

Completely impossible given the way MLS was founded. People are also dramatically underestimating the impact of the US's size on this system. England is smaller than New England, yet far more populous. Almost any random scattering of clubs is going to give you decent coverage and representation in England. What happens if all the best teams in the US are tucked in one corner of the map, or scattered to the winds? How do you negotiate TV and media contracts when they have no idea what parts of the country will be included and excluded? Unless they break up into a dozen or more regionally restricted leagues, just like Europe is broken up into 33 compact countries, this doesn't work.

Peter knows soccer!

What kinda of question is this not close 😂

The US will never have promotion/relegation in it’s sports for two simple reasons. The owners ONLY care about making money. Well maybe 95% money and 5% how the team do on the field. They would NEVER accept a situation where lining their pockets isn’t guaranteed. And US culture has always been “We’re number 1…We’re number 1”…….Wrongly of course, but nevertheless. Fans would not accept being in a “lower league”…It’s one thing to lose but still always be able to win the title every year. But to lose and know you CAN’T win it the year after, or maybe for many years, would turn fans off for sure.

they should just do promotion and relegation of players instead mixed with bottom teams get first picks in drafting

MESSI 🐐

The idea. of tanking is the worst part of American sports. I support the Miami Heat and thankfully its been quite a while that happens but if i follow a team who did this id just stop watching

But what if….MLS acquires more & more teams so all the MLS divisions would be formed by franchises?

They fear Louisville City Promotion

Of course promotion and relegation makes sense for American soccer with it being the best structure used for growing the sport, however, MLS want to push ahead with the single league system that’s playing on the same playbook as other American sports leagues. Despite the puzzling way MLS is becoming more of a hybrid between the two systems by it’s franchises growing talent through its own academies more so than the college soccer draft picks, it’s still less effective compared uses a merit division system with every division using the same academy system. The two structures do not compliment each other because the massive amount of the American population cut off from it.

They are nowhere near close, the USL clubs don’t have the finances to survive a promotion/relegation system

Imagine all the stories U.S soccer still has to tell. For expample it is a big thing for a club if they never get relegated out of the highest league. Or imagine two clubs that already have a rivalary, suddenly face each other in a duel for the spot in the top league. Just some of thousand more examples.

Wait no promotion or regulation? Wtf

Why is this even a discussion? NO PRO REL! We don’t need it, fans don’t want it and it won’t bring anything to the game. Also the fact that people are only watching the US Open cup because Messi is in it sad. There is a long standing history of this tournament and US Soccer should be promoting the hell out this tournament every year. If Messi wasn’t in the league then this final would have been televised on ESPN 8 The Ocho.

Zero chance. People paid huge franchise fees to buy into a major league. They aren't going to willingly impoverish themselves. Promotion/relegation is a sham anyway. It does generate some fan interest for the bottom feeders, but they tend to be pretty much the same group of suspects year in and year out. They bounce around from mediocrity, on their best days, in the major league to mediocrity in the lower league. Once in a while contending at the lower league and once in a while being a doormat in the big league. The benefit is really not there. And, to be honest, it sort of promotes mediocrity because the goal is never to get good enough to win the big league, but, instead, the goal is to make it to doormat in the big league. Hardly worth the effort to even think about.

We arent it will never happen as the owners will never let their assets be devalued by the chance of relegation. Meritocracy in USSF and MLS is a fairytale. I want it to happen, it never will.

After Messi retires the league will go back to the way it was before, relegation promotion is essential and promote competition and consequences for bad performances🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️ Jimmy is back back Are used to watch him on copa90 every day after school

but, why?... the NBA and the NFL doesn't have this and they are the biggest franchises in the world...maybe it works for Europe, but it doesn't work for the U.S...and, anyways isn't it just about watching good soccer?...

Unfortunately, this Open Cup talk didn't age well.

Too many people assume that pro/rel in the US would lead to the results that we see in England, but that's absolutely not true. In all likelihood, it would lead to the results that we see in Mexico. And in Mexico, despite a highly dedicated fan base and in spite of the fact that Liga MX is also the most popular league in the US, there have been some real problems at both the top tier and the second tier. If you don't know what those problems are, that means you haven't been paying attention. I for one am So happy that the US Soccer pyramid doesn't have the problems of the Mexican system, and Mexico is very likely to move away from their current model in order to stay competitive with MLS. They are adjusting to our way of doing this, not the other way around.

It would be so good for the league. Makes no sense to reward the worst teams with first draft picks

BOY. Isn't this whole interview super relevant now.

Won’t ever happen to much money invested.

MLS Upper and MLS Lower. Everything is still MLS and the mid teams will fight more for pro/rel

Can we just put an end to this. Can we stop trying to be like Europe. Let’s just do our own thing like we always do. There’s plenty of leagues with promotion relegation. How does promotion relegation honestly make things better? Basketball, football, baseball, hockey, so forth, doesn’t have it. Those leagues are among the best if not the best. If promotion and relegation truly made teams and players that much better, wouldn’t other sports adopt it to get a competitive edge? Why relegate the whole team? Like mass punishment for people that have no true say so. Stadium workers, outside shop owners, etc. sometimes things are outside people’s control (looking at sounders and Atlanta). Lots of injuries, lots of reserves and lots of losses. Imagine relegating sounders because they had to many injuries.