Oh shit that's right I got it backwards! Baltimore snatched the old Browns, not the other way around. As you can see, I've never cared that much about the NFL.
It appears the LIV Tour and the lower LiV International Tour will soon be overtaking the PGA Tour in popularity as the LIV tours will begin promotion and relegation next year. The PGA will probably fold. https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2022/07/26/report-liv-golf-relegation-promotion-tournament/
I know you're having a laugh, but the rules for gaining and maintaining PGA Tour membership are basically a form of promotion and relegation.
Although "some team captains and certain players may be exempt from relegation based on their contractual agreement with the league." That's like saying we have pro/rel in the Prem but based on the original Premier League contract Everton are exempted from relegation ( Everton were one of the original "big five").
Part of me wonders if maybe it's the US Open Cup that needs to be leveraged more to support lower divisions. Make it a March Madness type of event and find a month where MLS isn't playing (or maybe replace the MLS playoffs with it or something) so they dedicate their resources and best teams towards it. Mid Majors have great fan support despite not playing with the big clubs consistently. Could be an opportunity there if pro/rel is not a realistic option.
That was the situation in one of the bigger Brazilian state leagues (I forget whether it was the Carioca or Paulista) in the 50s and 60s: the league's original 13 clubs were exempt from relegation. Around half of the players on Brazil's 1958 and 1962 World Cup winning squads had only ever played for clubs that could not be relegated.
Not when they're the first non MLS side to make the final since '08 This is just the law of averages playing out
Very true but to their credit Sac entered the competition with 28 MLS teams whereas Charleston only had to compete with 13. But Championship side Cardiff reached the FA Cup final in 2007/08 just 4 seasons after D2 Millwall reached the final.
Well, that's not quite accurate. It was every player. And also the 1970 squad. Sao Paulo was the league which had the clubs exempt from relegation. Rio didn't have relegation at all, at least not until 1980 or so. The national league didn't start until after the 1970 World Cup, and didn't have pro/rel until, again, 1980 or so. Brazil - List of Second Division Champions (rsssfbrasil.com)
In a record unlikely to be broken, Baltimore has taken two major league teams in two different sports from two different cities with the same nickname. The only other candidate I can see here would be if a city felt like taking a couple of Rangers.
Ah, but that would be the same city! First the New York Football Giants would have to move somewhere else. We do not have a ruling yet on whether a city could qualify by stealing the Detroit Tigers and the Cincinnati Bengals. EDIT - I forgot the Jets! If the NFL team moves to the Phoenix metro area, then they will tie Baltimore for this record. I also forgot the Oilers! If Nashville (or Memphis?) steals the NHL team, they will also qualify for this distinction. I also forgot the Hawks! Well, this is a little murkier. If the Chicago NHL team or the Seattle NFL team move to Milwaukee, St. Louis or Atlanta, then you know what I'm kind of sorry I brought this up EDIT AGAIN - Royals and Kings in various scenarios
I was sifting through some MLS vs. USL topics on Reddit and I saw a funny comment from an American Tottenham fan. He said pro/rel is essential to his appreciation of the sport because he likes to watch Tottenham try to gain promotion to the Champions League.
This weekend Oldham Athletic play their first home game in the National League post relegation from the Football League. They'll be playing Dorking Wanderers, a club founded in 1999 who have been promotied ten levels since then. Meanwhile, Oldham are the first team to play in the Premier League and be relegated four levels out of the Football League. So that's a combined swing of 14 levels between the two teams. All based on performances - or lack thereof - on the field play.
Too bad p/r couldn't save the league they started in though ... And yes, Dorking are a great (and historic) story ... didn't hurt that the owner/manager/ex-player rubs shoulders with Beckham, Neville, Calum Best as well as his own business networking making good with sponsors that clubs at these levels can only dream about (they paid for Dorking's star ST) Just context that always seems to get ignored, denied, or just flat out is pretended to not exist
CAF to announce African Super League plans today: https://www.espn.com/soccer/caf-cha...super-league-set-to-be-announced-on-wednesday
As much as I hate the idea of a Super League for UEFA, it makes a lot more sense for CAF. The pro game there needs the stability a closed league would provide, and the whole-greater-than-sum-of-parts marketing and development potential as well. I suspect that in a decade or two, pro/rel will be a largely European phenomenon, although it may hold on many Latin American countries for a while.
Of course, it's far from certain an African Super League would work as well as hoped; I just mean I can see a stronger case for it. In UEFA, it's a solution is search of a problem (other than the "problem" of large, over-capitalized clubs maintaining their monopoly on revenue).
At that level leagues are really just organisational bodies for amateur clubs. I'm not sure if that short-lived league disbanded due the the restructing of the pyramid, but its clubs apparently just joined other regional leagues. Dorking Wanderers were also helped by the original Dorking club folding after being forced out of their ground for a number of seasons. They were groundsharing at Dorking Wanderers when they folded, and Wanderers were than able to move into Dorking FC's old ground. It all seems a little too convenient.