‘It’s anti-soccer that we haven’t had it all this time’ – USL club owners, presidents embrace promotion-relegation after years of waiting
Decision-makers for USL clubs believe that a European model could breathe new life into American soccer
Rob Salvatore has heard the noise for years. Promotion-relegation was, for some time, the worst kept secret in American soccer. Someone, somewhere, at some time, was going to implement it. And the Charleston Battery owner had been on the receiving end of questions ever since it was even rumored to be a possibility.
He was routinely pestered at home games, by both loyal regulars and European enthusiasts, as to when his team would be part of a grown up ecosystem, one that adapted the model found in global soccer.
“When it initially came up, there was this real desire from the fan base,” Salvatore told GOAL.
And now, those fans have their wish – at least, in some senses. The USL announced last week that it will implement promotion and relegation between three professional divisions by 2028, concurrent with launching a league with Division One status. Needless to say, this stands as a landmark moment in American soccer. And according to many owners, who voted overwhelmingly in favor of its implementation, pro-rel is the beginning of the second wind of a league that is properly starting to grow up…
“I didn’t think it would happen before we even kicked off,” Matt Valentine, chairman and founder of Dallas’ incoming USL franchise, told GOAL. “So it’s all coming a little quicker than we had anticipated. But I love it. It’s anti-soccer that we haven’t had pro-rel all this time. So it’s, long, long, long overdue.”
Read the full article by Tom Hindle on GOAL.
