MLS Expansion: An Opportunity for Promotion/Relegation in 2011?

By: Daryl | March 18th, 2009

Word on the grapevine is that MLS has made a decision on it’s next two expansion teams. Vancouver has called a press conference for tomorrow, with Portland planning an announcement on Friday.

No guarantees of course, but I don’t see either organization doing a big press conference to announce that their bid for MLS has failed miserably.

So, with the Seattle making its debut tomorrow as the 15th MLS team (vs Red Bulls live on ESPN2 in the US, and LiveBlogged by Travis on MLS Offside) and Philadelphia joining in 2010 to make it 16 teams, the (likely) Vancouver and Portland franchises will gives us an 18 team MLS by 2011.

Which would be just enough to make my wacky idea for reshaping MLS workable. Maybe. Read on for details of my proposal, and help me spellcheck before I send it off to Don Garber.

Here’s the problem with MLS: The regular season is dull because there’s no promotion/relegation. That’s an opinion held so widely that it almost qualifies as a cold hard fact. And so a playoff system – boo! – is necessary to give the end of the season some drama.

But there will almost certainly never ever ever be promotion and relegation between MLS and USL, because it would make MLS financially unstable. Who’s going to pay the $30m or more MLS franchise fee, only for the team to be relegated the next season?

Sow what we have is an impossible clash between a necessary US sports franchise structure, and a more open traditional football structure. So far the two have been incompatible, but with the league finally reaching 18 teams, I have an idea for a compromise between the two. Here it comes:

A two-tier MLS.

So there’s MLS Div. I and MLS Div. II, each made up of nine teams. At the end of each season the bottom two (or maybe three) from MLS 1 get relegated. The top two (or three) from MLS 2 get promoted. If you finish bottom of MLS 2 you don’t get relegated or lose your franchise. You just suck big time.

So it’s promotion and relegation, but within a single entity franchise system. I see the schedule working like this: You play every team in your division home and away (traditional football style) but also play just one game (randomly either home or away) against each team from the other division.

If you win MLS Div.II you get a trophy as well as promotion. If you win MLS Div. I you’re the champ. Simple as that.

Initial divisional alignment would be decided by where you finish the 2010 season. Bottom seven teams in 2010, plus the two new expansion teams will form MLS Div II.

I can see all kinds of problems with it (eg expansion teams having to start at the non-glamorous end of the league) but I’m convinced this is a nice little compromise between a US sporting setup and a traditional football league.

Feedback welcome…

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Kahkakew Larocque

I have always thought the MLS could handle a 24 team league. Then a split after 23 games into two divisions and the final 11 games against the division you end up in to determine a season and league champion, followed by the rel/pro series against the two USL-1 league and season champion sides and the lowest two MLS sides..works in many other countries.
Kahkakew Larocque

I would agree with the system used in many cental and south american leagues where all teams play half the season as one league, then split into two leagues at the half way mark into two divisions..in a way it is a form or relegation/promotion by who stays up to compete for the championship. Further to that the bottom two of the lower half could play off against the USL league champion and season champion in a 2 game total with a final for one promotion spot much like in england...
Fred

I like the idea of Pro/Rel. The rest of the Soccer/Football world does it. Why can't we? I would definitely wait until we have more teams. How about if the three last teams of MLS play the three top teams of USL/1 home and away to determine if there is pro/rel. This would add more excitement.
zachary

Kyle There is a sporting cold war on as we speek and its America and Australia vs the rest of the world. the only problem is there the capitalists and we are the communists!
in the rest of the world they have football class divitions and the teams are free to be pro/rel.
USA/Aus have only one class and all the teams are forced to be equal! they put a salery cap (handy cap) on the top teams and give the bottom teams special attention but if they dont peform then they get liqudated!
Kyle

Your claim that pro/rel systems are more exciting is insane. What is so interesting about Manchester United winning the Prem 11 out of 18 years? Especially when its all wrapped up two months beforehand? Pro/rel and parity are incompatible. Yes pro/rel battles might be interesting, but they also lead to predictable 4-0 results. In a country like the USA, where people will follow their local teams rather then a big club, there is no way promotion and relegation will ever ever ever happen. Thank goodness
zachary

America can have a champians league the same as europe. instead of compering America with countrys in Europe like Scottland and England they should compere it with the whole of Europe and the American states as European countrys.
thats the only way you can have a promotion/relegation system in America other wise its just to big and the smaller teams cant aford to travel
Ted Westervelt

My vote is for 20 team MLS, 20 team USL1, 20 team USL2 - and USL2 works out promotion rules for PDL.

three promotion/relegation spots for each.

I know, I know, there's not enough teams. Give USL two years of warning, fill the final 3 MLS slots with USL1 promotion in the first year, and watch entrepreneurs rush get teams into USL1 and 2. Oh, and by the way - reinvigorate US club soccer.

Free Football from the Franchise!!!!
Alan

Its an ok idea. I dont see the point of Div I teams playing Div II teams in the Regular season though. I think they should try and just sitck to div I and div II, and then all the draft players go to Div II. If they teams want to play eachother then they should create a "MLS Cup"... and then a "MLS carling CUP" so if arsene wenger come to the MLS he has somewhere to play the youngsters.
AJ

The underlying concept of promotion/relegation is accountability - clubs/teams that do not perform are demoted and suffer financial consequences, and clubs/teams that do perform well are rewarded. Nothing could be more "American." It gives fans reason to get invested, stayed involved, and give "fanatical" support to a professional sports team. There is an interdependence, a quid pro quo, and a structure in place that makes everyone accountable for what happens on the field of play. We would all have something at stake.
Ideas man

just a point big teams do get relegated in europe. Just not often, manchetser united were relegated in 1974. Milan were relegated in italy teice in the early 80s (one by a points dedcution, one by being awful), Atletico madrid spains 3rd biggest club were relegated less than 10 years ago. It happens, and the smaller the league (no. of teams) the higher the chance.
Ideas man

Your idea is exactly how it is in many leagues.

The football league in England used to be four divisions, and the only way you would get out, was if you were bvoted out. They held a vote at the end of every season. But in the late 19080s they decided to standard promotion as teams rarely got voted out, and it kept some really bad teams from small places in teh league. Now those teams have dissapeared.

In Holland they have the two division set up. The only way you can get relegated from the 2nd league is by losing your professional license. Then the best amatuer teams apply. You lose your pro license through financial mis management etc.

Most leagues do have a cut off point where relegation/promotion isn't automatic. In England and Italy it's very low down.

You do need the system, it has worked well for years. You also need to realise a city doesn't need 1 million people to have two teams. London has 13 professional teams for 7 million people. There is a city in Holland called herenveen who's population is 25,000, they average 26,000 every home game, and are expanding to 40,000. Many other examples. Green Bay packers should point to you this at least.

I hope it does grow!
Patrick

I doubt teams like Galaxy and Red Bulls will ever be in chance of being relegated though - the teams in major markets will more than likely end up being the Manchester Uniteds and Arsenals of MLS.
Jason

It'll never happen.

You think MLS will get a television deal with anyone if there's even a possibility it won't have a New York team?
Nigel

this is a terrible idea and not at all fun. They need to incorporate the USL-1st Division. Make the MLS league the same, and the teams that finish (when the leage is 20 teams) 18th, 19th, and 20th are relegated to the USL and the top 3 of USL go to MLS. It can be just like Europe if the MLS wasn't stubborn and stupid. Bad teams should be punished and good teams should be rewarded. Give cities like Rochester and Montreal a chance to go beyond the USL.
Gavin H

MLS could "accept" promotion & relegation stating

" The MLS looks forward to implimenting promotion and relegation with the USL once it has completed it league expansion with 24 teams in USL-1 and 20 teams in both USL-2East and newly created USL-2WEST, and with every other Men's open age league in the country feeding up into the USL structure. Teams who meet the financial and facility crteria as required by current MLS teams will be elegible for promotion from USL-1 to MLS."

It puts the requirement back to the USL to make it happen and at the moment they are 40 clubs or so short.

So if you what Promotion relegation there needs to be great increase in support for USL and the legaues below to make it happen.
Ben

These are all nice ideas but there is one big issue...$

The MLS is not set up like other soccer leagues, at least not yet. The league is VERY involved in team affairs concerning what is best for MLS. Vetoing trades deemed 'bad for the league' is a perfect example of this. MLS uses the marketing success of the teams to sell itself as a viable soccer league worthy of future investment. The league is not about to relegate some of its own teams out of the media spotlight into the USL or into some lower tier of soccer. Don Garber has made it clear that while MLS has taken steps to borrow traditions from other leagues around the world, U.S. geography and media culture is not compatable with a tiered league format.
Josh W

Also forgot to mention, you'd have to make USL and MLS get along, or have the latter 'absorb' all of the former's clubs/come up with many new clubs pretty quickly.
Josh W

I think a two-tiered pro-rel system would be nice to make MLS a truly national league, instead of the regional league it is now (my team is a USL-1 side 180 miles away).

However, it would have to come about once expansion was absolutely finished- at least for MLS1. For example: Say you're Vancouver and MLS/USl-1 just initiated pro-rel in 2011. You pay $40 mil to join the league, have a typical crappy expansion team year, and then you're in the lower league for at least the next year.

It would also have to be agreed on by all the owners.

To sum up- if it happens it won't for a VERY long time.
Peter B

The concept of two divisions is a lot like the high school lacrosse leagues here in Utah. The best teams play each other and the up-and-comers do the same. In my opinion it would produce better competiton because only the best teams would be playing each other.
Gavin H

Promotion relegation needs to start at the bottom and work up. local leagues to state leagues to Development leagues to USL to MLS. pro/rel works where this is no $$$ to stop it.
Mike S

What you're saying is cool but it would mean a lot less games... I think we need more teams before this could be proposed, I also think that restructuring the league isn't going to do much to draw the American audience.
ben

the thing is that obviously it would be better but we probably shouldnt do that until we have enough teams to have 15 teams in the first division and 15 in the lower. Or maybe they should make USL first division the lower mls division and eliminate the USL first division. Just a thought.
Trevor

MLS is expanding to 20 teams by 2012 according to SBI
EP @ Attacking90

I think this is a really inventive idea & BTW totally agree we need relegation and promotion. One challenge I see is that 18 or 20 games just isn't enough - we really need 15 - 20 teams at both levels.

What to do about that? Well why not let USL teams buy their way into the league? Set the price to join MLS Champion League @ $20M with $10. Of that going into a Kitty for the existing MLS Premier League teams. Here's the raw numbers for an existing MLS Premier League team: You get $10M but have a chance of being one of two teams to get relegated. That's probably a decent bargain.

In conjunction with this they have to remove or vastly change the salary cap, thus enabling teams to build a winning squad and ensure they don't get relegated. Right now losing teams have the excuse of only being allowed to spend enough for a weak squad.

So there you have it - 40 teams fighting it out tooth and nail. Still that's not even one team per state, and some states like California are going to want many clubs.

The game in the US will get much better when the competitive forces are unleashed rather than restrained and when there are a full array of competitive teams and interlinked leagues - from bar teams to world class. Then US players will all dream of playing soccer as an adult, fight to make those dreams real, and show the US potential in sport - in soccer.

Cheers
Shawn

Give it up. Pro/Rel is something we shouldn't entertain until US can provide enough talented players for 30 clubs. Let's get to 20 first before we start in the w/ the Pro/Rel debates.
Laurie

Could also keep the expansion years from sucking. Not that OUR (Seattle's) expansion year will suck.

Of course not.
Mustafa

Daryl, I like the idea, and on top of that, i think it would be awesome to have a giant single elimination tournament go on after the season, with the bottom two teams unable to compete (to give an incentive to NOT finish in the bottom and just accumulate draft picks, if the MLS works like other american leagues with the worst teams getting the highest draft picks), and from there, the remaining 16 teams would go up for an MLS cup, with the winner of THAT getting one of the MLS' CONCACAF Champions league spots (for even MORE incentive/exciting action for the viewers)