BY ETHAN GARCIA, JRN 111 STUDENT
In a groundbreaking move for American soccer, the U.S. is set to adopt a worldwide soccer tradition.
The United Soccer League, USL, is implementing a new promotion and relegation system in 2027, bringing along a new tier of soccer to complete the transition to this new system. Not only can this new system bring more excitement to its leagues, it could possibly help boost low TV ratings and increase fan interest, as well as provide great opportunities for players domestically and internationally.
An issue with American soccer is it hasn’t implemented this system into any of its leagues. Teams cannot be promoted into a better league for playing well, and no team has to fear the possibility of being demoted to the league below if it performs horribly.
Without this system, American soccer has been seen by many as a “no consequence league,” which is unattractive to viewers.
This is one reason soccer leagues in America such as Major League Soccer failed to pull in constant high numbers before the arrival of one of the greatest players ever, Lionel Messi.
“It needs to be brought to American soccer,” said Moraine Valley freshman soccer player Jacek Malinowski. “Without it, there’s nothing to lose and it isn’t the same as other leagues.”
MLS has seen viewership and interest rise since Messi joined the league, but it has not been able to capitalize on that for games in which Messi is not playing.
According to the New York Times, the MLS cup saw a 47 percent decline in viewership. Even in the championship game, people weren’t inclined to watch because Messi wasn’t playing.
This causes issues because even American viewers don’t take the MLS seriously. Instead of supporting and watching American soccer, most fans are interested in watching other leagues, such as the English or Spanish ones.
Since its first year, Major League Soccer has been the biggest soccer league in the United States and Canada. MLS will not be involved in the addition of the new promotion and relegation format.
Instead of using that format, American soccer so far has opted to follow the typical American sports-style league approach, similar to leagues such as the NFL, NHL and MLB, where teams move up or down based on their performance.
The current USL Championship follows the traditional American format. It has 24 teams divided into two conferences: Eastern and Western. However, the only consequence for teams that don’t well is that they miss the playoffs, so the bad teams have nothing to play for late in the season, and their games are irrelevant.
The lack of consequences also has an effect on other players, teams and fans that are a part of teams in the United Soccer Leagues, which has often been viewed as the lower or minor leagues.
There is little to no pathway or opportunity for these teams to reach the Major League Soccer level and enjoy the benefits of playing in America’s biggest league.
In other countries, the format for the soccer leagues is immensely different. The English Premier League, along with other leagues in Europe, has a relegation system with multiple tiers spreading throughout four leagues.
The way this works is the bottom three teams of the main league, which in this case would be the EPL, would be relegated to the second tier of English soccer called the Championship, and the top three teams in the Championship would get promoted to the EPL.
This new system not only benefits current teams and players, but it can also help better the development of younger talent in this country and give them more opportunities. It can impact players in school everywhere, from decisions on where to sign to where they want to work toward.
Evergreen Park High School coach Matt Machrowicz is thinking positively of the newly constructed USL.
“It would be great to be scouted to this league,” he said. “It would give a glimpse into what it’s like overseas and how hard they play. It would bring an entirely new perspective into American soccer for players everywhere.”
Not only would it give American players opportunities, but it would also attract people internationally to come play for a league and organization where this system is used.
However, Moraine Valley soccer player Fernando Alvarez thinks, as much as this system is needed in American soccer, it’s not going to do well.
“It would decline the process of footballers,” he said. “You can see it and say ‘the opportunity to go up and down divisions is great.’ But MLS is the biggest foundation for soccer in the U.S.”
Although this league has incredible upside potential, the MLS is the United States’ biggest promotion, and trying to outdo it can potentially harm development of American players, and even decrease the visibility of players to bigger leagues.
“I think it’s totally beneficial that this league be brought to American soccer because it gives more opportunities to everyone,” Machrowicz said. “The kids I coach will have more opportunities with more leagues and more teams. The money obviously won’t be there like it is for European teams, but for younger people it’s going to be perfect.”
According to MLS Soccer, only 90 college players were selected in the MLS SuperDraft for 2025. For all the players that want to play professionally in America, this is not a big number.
Moraine Valley’s soccer coach Javier Roman also believes in the MLS. He knows the MLS will keep its star power and the fans it has for now. Roman also has more hope for college players to play professionally.
“It’s going to be really great. All the people who don’t get picked by the MLS get to go [to the USL],” Roman said. “It’s going to make the players work harder to not get relegated, and it’ll help them get seen by people in the MLS.”
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