Eight years ago, an investigation of football fans in the United States found that 88% of them believed that marketing and relegation would increase the American club’s football.
It was long before documentaries that Sunderland ‘to I Die and Welcome to Wrexham Be a dream in the eyes of the film producers.
Given the popularity of these two shows alone, it is extremely likely that the number of Americans in favor of a PRO/REL system for the US Club Soccer exceeds long 88% from the survey conducted by Deloitte 2016.
It would not surprise me if it is over 90%. After all, everyone seems to want it. Even MLS players do. So do a former MLS manager. It seems that the only people against marketing and relegation are either current MLS employees, Alexi Lalas or billionaires invested in Major League Soccer.
USL diagram a new road that would reason with American football fans
Therefore, the time of USL’s announcement in February 2025 should that the league intends to launch a D1 football league as early as 2027 to be music for the football fans’ ears in the United States if the league decides to adopt marketing and relegation.
Demand is there. Plus an American football league with marketing and relegation would offer a product differentiation to MLS. After all, the probability that MLS uses marketing and relocation is a non-start.
San Diego midfielder Luca de la Torre admitted that MLS is another sport without marketing and relegation. He is not wrong, but leave MLS. Major League Soccer will never adopt marketing and relegation, so let another league be the first to implement it in the United States.
Immediately, USL would be more interesting if and when it adopts marketing and relegation. Just like MLS, it’s good as it is now. But by embracing Pro/Rel, there is more skin in the game for football fans in the United States. Pro/Rel adds Jeopardy. The good teams rise and the bad teams fall. It is more a democratic and capitalist way to run a sporting one.
Perfect time for USL to adopt pro/rel
New value is also that the time for USL to strike is now, ie. 2027. Major League Soccer is locked up in its ten -year agreement with Apple by the end of 2032. So if USL can expand its partnership with CBS Sports and other partners, it has the opportunity to deliver a more relevant league to fans of Club Soccer in the United States.
Of course, the World Cup 2026 on our beaches will give a larger spotlight on the game and will offer innovative leagues as USL an opportunity to sign large commercial sponsorship agreements to generate more revenue.
Finally, if USL can deduct it and adopt marketing and relegation, it would attract more foreign ownership groups to invest in USL. Many of them want to try to develop the next American stars and then send them to Europe, but the current MLS expansion fee is for exorbitant, which limits growth throughout the country.
