In a landmark shift for American soccer, the United Soccer League is preparing to introduce promotion and relegation in a nationwide professional pyramid, with a new Division One launching in 2028 that aims to operate at the same level as Major League Soccer. The move would be the first time a major US sports league adopts the global merit-based system long familiar in Europe and elsewhere.
USL’s plan is to create an interconnected three-tier men’s professional structure—mirroring the English model—that will allow clubs to move between levels based on sporting performance rather than franchise buy-ins. That approach contrasts sharply with MLS’s closed, single-entity system, where entry requires a costly expansion fee (San Diego FC reportedly paid $500m) and clubs are effectively franchises operating under centralized league contracts.
High-profile English football figures are helping shape the USL’s strategy. Tony Scholes, the Premier League’s chief football officer, is expected to become president of USL Division One, and Lee O’Neill, former Ipswich Town operations GM and current League One president, says the league has already laid important groundwork. The USL’s Championship (Division II) and League One (Division III) names deliberately echo the English game as part of an attempt to bring that culture to the US.
O’Neill points to recent global stories—Wrexham’s rise, Birmingham’s struggles—as educating American audiences about promotion and relegation, creating a latent appetite among fans who watch these dramas on TV and could connect to a domestic version. For owners, the appeal grew once they recognised the “jeopardy and David versus Goliath dynamic” could drive fandom and investment; a supermajority of USL owners voted this year to adopt promotion-relegation after declining in 2023.
Under the USL vision, the financial barrier to entry is far lower than MLS’s model. In theory, an owner could pay a considerably smaller expansion fee—reported ideas suggest figures far below MLS’s hundreds of millions—to join League One and, through sporting success, reach the top tier in a short period. USL executives argue their clubs’ local business models, focused on community engagement, ticket revenue and diversified income, make them less vulnerable to the financial shocks relegation can bring in Europe. The league says it will also implement structural and financial support mechanisms to smooth promotion and relegation so movement is a reward, not an existential threat.
US Soccer Federation sanctioning rules present a practical challenge. Sanctioning currently assigns leagues to Division I, II, or III based on standards such as number of teams, market size, owner net worth, stadium capacity and geographic spread—rules drafted with closed leagues in mind. Promotion-relegation creates cases where promoted clubs might not immediately meet those criteria. USSF has been reportedly supportive and is engaged in discussions with the USL on how to manage standards and transitions while expanding the game.
The relationship between USL and MLS is shifting. Once cooperative—MLS clubs placed reserve teams in USL divisions for years before creating MLS Next Pro in 2022—the two will soon be direct competitors for top-flight status and audience reach. USL leaders, though, reject a zero-sum view. “We’re not going into competition with MLS,” O’Neill says, arguing the US’s size can support multiple professional structures. USL’s network of 38 professional men’s teams already penetrates regions MLS has overlooked, and at least 16 more expansion teams are planned across USL’s leagues.
Infrastructure investment underpins the USL case. Since 2020 the league has added 10 soccer-specific stadiums, with 12 more in development—part of a roughly $1.5bn investment—improving facilities from grassroots to pro levels and making the sport more accessible nationwide. This expansion into smaller markets is intended to grow participation and fandom beyond the 30 MLS franchises concentrated in bigger cities.
Market research points to a favourable context: the 2026 World Cup—co-hosted by the United States—has been projected to add some 32 million new soccer fans in the US. Soccer is particularly popular among younger Americans: it’s the only major US sport with especially strong followings among 16–24 year-olds, and surveys suggest a large portion of Gen Z will engage with the tournament. USL leaders hope that the World Cup’s surge in interest, coupled with a promotion-relegation system that rewards on-field success, will help turn that interest into long-term support passed down through generations.
Practical details remain to be finalised: how promotion and relegation will be phased in, the exact financial protections for relegated clubs, and how sanctioning standards will be applied during transitions. USL executives emphasise they are learning from global leagues and see being able to design a system from scratch—without deeply entrenched legacy constraints—as an advantage.
The proposal blends English-style meritocracy with American ambitions: expanding professional opportunity, investing in community-level infrastructure, and creating emotional narratives that can deepen fan engagement. Whether promotion and relegation will become a sustainable, widely embraced part of the US soccer landscape depends on the league’s ability to balance competitive integrity, financial stability and regulatory compliance. The next few years, culminating in the new Division One launch and the post-World Cup period, will be decisive. Only time will tell if this American experiment with an old-world system unlocks a new era for soccer in the United States.