The All-Encompassing Pro/Rel Thread on Soccer in the USA

There was a bidding process for the D1 league that USSF had promised FIFA.

There were 3 bids. This is from one of the others



A goal would get between 1 and 6 points. 6 points would be for a defender scoring from his zone (between the red lines looking right to left).

The voting went MLS 18, APSL 5, the above 0.

 

Most of the APSL's decline happened before MLS was even proposed. At the time the MLS proposal was submitted to USSF in 1993, the APSL's 22 original clubs had dwindled to 4 and it was only a viable league because it brought in three clubs from the Canadian Soccer League which had just folded the previous year.

 

I believe 7 teams had signed up for MLS by then with a much bigger financial commitment.

 

By the way, USSF has now sanctioned two D1 women's soccer leagues. This definitively answers the question as to whether it would sanction parallel D1 leagues.

BREAKING NEWS: There are officially two women's first divisions in the U.S.

USL Super League has been granted first-division sanctioning by U.S. Soccer ahead of August launch, joining #NWSL. The inaugural USL season in 2024-25 will feature eight teams, with Brooklyn just added. pic.twitter.com/nCAZ2tJNHq

— Jeff Kassouf (@JeffKassouf) February 9, 2024

 

So there you go. Anyone who wants to start D1 league in the US with promotion and relegation that's your cue.

All you need to do is meet divisional standards.

 

Which , for men at least, are set up for closed leagues not a pro/rel pyramid.

 

No more so than Belgium, or the Netherlands or Germany.

 

That’s one open system to allow a whole new first division league!

 

Its' more earlier say than done. USL could become D1 but the quality needs to improve a lot.
Who else is going to start a new league?

 

Are they pro/rel leagues?

 

Do I sense the ground shaking? Because the goalposts are moving.

We were talking about an alternative D1.

You stated that the US Soccer Federation Professional League Standards are set up for closed leagues, not a pro/rel pyramid.

Those standards require that teams have sufficient finances to play at a higher level, just like in many European systems.

If USL for instance, wanted to create a professional D1 league with promotion and relegation they could.

They'd just need to find 12 owners initially with sufficient funds. Any teams that wanted to be promoted would need to meet certain requirements.

You might get a system like the Netherlands or Belgium (one of them) where a team has to announce at the start of a season that they want to be eligible for promotion.

 

This is going to get good! Two D1 Women's league in the same country. It's either going to end in a merger or one is going to put the other out of business. But both won't survive simultaneously.

 

No matter what happens one of them will fail. As soon as one of them feels like their business is going downhill they will ask for a merger. This will take many years until we see which one will fail but my guess is USL Super League. Yes, because USL is new.
Depending on how many teams each league when this happens. They could even add Pro/Rel in a closed system. The close system is the only way I see MLS adding Pro/Rel.

 

Reminds me of when we had two pro women’s basketball leagues. The WNBA is an adjunct to the NBA and has a very short season. The other one played fall to spring like everyone else. It had the better players because it had a normal length season. And the WNBA put it out of business eventually.

 

I went to several Seattle Reign (the original al Reign) games back then, probably 75% plus. I'm still holding a grudge and boycott of the WNBA.

 

It all.comes down to who has better TV deals. No league can survive without a good TV deal. How good of a TV deal.each league has depends a lot on viewership and interest.

 

One of the two may fail, but not because of USSF denying D1 status.

 

No league can fail. Like in europe there is many leagues below top one and they run. Jist because here they want to destroy any competition

 

Multiple leagues have failed in the US and Canada. Perhaps you should look around BigSoccer.

 

League failed because ot os buisness single entity. Ot os not just governing body but everything in between. Reson euro.leagues do not fail is because they are just name governong body clubs are league

 

The single entity has kept the league alive. Every previous attempt failed.

 

Did you actually watch the APSL/North American futbol league? That league did NOT have single entity. Teams rapidly folded. I watched. Few others did.

 

The close system works if you don't have history.

 

Whatever happened to the the Combination League, the Lancashire Combination League, the Cheshire County League, the Willesden & District League, the London League, the Spartan League, and the Athenian League?

Just to name a few of the now defunct leagues that Chester and Wealdstone played in over the years.

 

I don't think anyone is saying it will fail because D1 status was denied. D1 status was already granted to USL Women's league. Let's just wait and see which one wins out; NWSL or USL.