Here is what I got from the article. 1. Promotion/Relegation: I think this could be very interesting. You could also reward the champion of USL C with a CONCACAF spot. I think the 4 US CONCACAF spots should be for the winners of the MLS Cup, the US Open Cup, the Supporters Shield, and for the USL C champion. 2. Schedule change: I don't like it. It will be really hard to play games in Dec and Feb in much of the top half of the country. Maybe they should try a Mexico apertura/clausura? 3. Expansion: Seems USL is still in good shape with interest from investors in teams. With promotion/relegation possibly coming though, I think most investors would pay the smaller USL 1 fee and try to get promoted to USL C vs pay the larger USL C fee with the risk of going down, right?
Why would you give a CCL spot to a team that is worse than pretty much every MLS team? If the USL-C champion is good enough to get a CCL spot, they can do it via USOC.
They have a path to CCL. It's called the US Open Cup. Don't care if the Greenville loses to Tampa Bay, don't care if Louisville City loses to a MLS team. If they can't beat them, they can't beat a Costa Rican team or a Jamaican team, then.
The USL wants to kill itself? Every couple of years the USL (USISL, etc...) talks about pro-rel, then the talk disappears. Why? Because teams choose the division they want to play in - for financial reasons. The Richmond Kickers were in the D2 championship game in back to back years. It damn near bankrupted the team, so they self-relegated to D3 where they've happily played on for the last decade with less travel and more regional opponents. Forcing teams up/down when they don't want to go will make some of them just chose to go to MLS-D3. And then there's the Fall-Spring thing. Really? Do they really think soccer fans in the United States are ready to pack stadiums in the winter? And for what, to better fit the European transfer window? Exactly how many USL players are really going to get sold to Europe for any noticeable amounts of money? And that's going to cover over the empty stadiums? Name any country other than Canada that gives a continental competition to a second league. And let's be frank, Canada calls the CPL its D1. No D2 league gets entry into continental club competitions. I remember old A-League teams in the CONCACAF Champions Cup and CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup back in the mid-90s. The results weren't pretty. Leave the distribution of CONCACAF slots out of this. If a USL team wants to play internationally they can win the USOC.
For a long time winning a Cup competition (or losing the final if the winner qualified other ways) would get a D2 or lower team into Europe, but after enough teams who qualified that way fell on their face a number of European FA's changed their rules to prevent anyone but a D1 team qualifying for Europe.
Why do they hate grass-roots soccer! If D1 clubs won't take their domestic cup competitions seriously, why should they be rewarded???!!!???? /s
Heck, even a team moving up causes problems. Cleveland City Stars were "promoted" from USL Second Division (D3) in 2008 season to USL First Division (D2) in 2009 based by on-field results, winning the D3 championship. They folded after the 2009 season due to travel and financial expenses. Anyway, they probably mentioned pro/rel to entice investors to invest in their D3 league instead of D2, banking on the 2026 World Cup popularity and partly red meat for the cosplayers and zealots. Thus, this should be met with a great deal of skepticism.
After reading the article, it sounds like owners are split on pro/rel. As for the calendar change, the personnel interviewed were all against it. The USL teams make their money in June-August when schools are out. Week night games are tough on attendance, especially during the colder months.
People are commenting on The Athletic story like it's a deal. It's a proposal that doesn't even seem like it was on the agenda. Voting will take place on December.
Red meat to the fan boys. It's the same reason Don Garber and Ivan Gazidis used to deflect pro-rel questions. It cost nothing to verbally kick the can down the road. To come out and tell certain fans that they could "suck it" isn't good marketing - especially when you're not in a position of strength.
Outside of the oxymoron in the first part of your argument, the USL should not be gifted a continental entry into the tournament
Charlotte FC President Nick Kelly was on Jason Davis SiriusXM show today. One of the topics covered was a reserve team for Charlotte FC in this new league. Kelly says they will launch the reserve team in 2023. Kelly also said that the team will train in Charlotte, but play their home matches somewhere in the Carolinas that's a hour or two away from Charlotte.
Soccer showdown: Brett Sports and Entertainment hopes to put MLS farm team in Spokane | The Spokesman-Review
Introducing: @MLSNEXTPro. Established in June by Major League Soccer, the new professional league will complete an integrated player pathway from @MLSNEXT through to MLS first teams. pic.twitter.com/8cCLDFMO2K— Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 6, 2021 .@MLSNEXTPro will offer young players and experienced professionals the opportunity to develop & showcase their talents while competing for an MLS NEXT Pro championship.21 clubs will compete in MLS NEXT Pro's inaugural season, kicking off in March 2022. pic.twitter.com/ER3vMdtexX— Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 6, 2021 The notable inclusion here is Rochester New York FC, formerly Rochester Rhinos of USL, co-owned by Jamie Vardy of course.
MLS NEXT Pro unveils 21 clubs for inaugural season starting March 2022 Colorado Chicago Dallas Cincinnati Houston Columbus Kansas City Miami Minnesota New England Portland New York City Salt Lake Orlando San Jose Philadelphia Seattle Rochester NY FC* St. Louis Toronto Vancouver *Independent club Joining in 2023: Atlanta Charlotte D.C. LA LAFC Nashville NY Red Bulls
The Rapids announced Rapids 2 as part of this today, and announced the end of their official partnership with the Colorado Springs Switchbacks. I assume many of the other MLS-USL affiliations are also going by the wayside.
I'm just hoping USL-C has a solid 22-24 teams next year and continue to see attendance increase and stadiums get built.
Hmm. These 21 teams look good to continue: Birmingham Legion Charleston Battery Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Tulsa El Paso Locomotive FC Hartford Athletic Indy Eleven Las Vegas Lights Louisville City Memphis 901 Miami FC New Mexico United Oakland Roots Orange County Phoenix Rising Pittsburgh Riverhounds Rio Grande Valley FC Toros Sacramento Republic San Antonio San Diego Loyal Tampa Bay Rowdies Plus these New teams: Detroit City Monterey Bay Austin Bold may be playing in 2022 or may be on hiatus. As far as the MLS2 teams, these are not starting in MLS Next until 2023 so they are probably around for another year: Atlanta United 2 LA Galaxy II Loudoun United FC New York Red Bulls II I might have missed a couple one way or the other but that's 23 to 28 or so.
Expansion teams post 2022: Queensboro FC OKC Energy (return from hiatus) Buffalo Des Moines Pawtucket
I figure they're waiting to decide whether they want to, or will be allowed to, continue to field D2 teams.