New MLS Commissioner Makes Blunt Ruling on Integrating Promotion/Relegation

Incoming MLS commissioner Larry Berg has ruled out the possibility of promotion and relegation coming into the league anytime soon as he prepares to take over from longtime commissioner Don Garber in January.

Despite calls from soccer hardcores to adopt the system used in many of Europe’s top competitions, Berg doesn’t see it as a pathway forward in the near future for MLS. No other league in the U.S. or Canada has promotion and relegation, and even Mexico’s Liga MX has suspended the idea.

“I can understand the appeal for the fans, [but] I don’t think it’s a great way to build a league. I don’t think it’s a way to get stadiums built, get training facilities built, and to have owners invest in rosters and all the other things you need to do,” Berg told reporters at an introductory press conference in New York City.

“So the great thing about promotion and relegation for fans is that the jeopardy is quite severe. But I think there are other ways to create jeopardy during the regular season, [and] again in the playoffs, during the playoffs, to get to the next round. That’s what we want to focus on.”

MLS Structure and the U.S. Sporting Landscape

MLS, Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers — A new competition structure could spark further rivalries in MLS. | Soobum Im/MLS/Getty Images

Unlike European competitions, MLS will continue to hold the MLS Cup playoffs every year, fitting the North American style of crowning an annual league champion. At the same time, teams will compete in other competitions, with evolving participation in the Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup, U.S. Open Cup and Canadian Championship, across the 30 clubs.

As a league setup, MLS is exceptionally different from its European counterparts. Organized as a single-entity structure, with so-called club owners standing as investor-operators of their organizations and player contracts signed with the league instead of a specific team, it would take an entire overhaul to bring promotion and relegation to MLS.

The single-entity structure was used to make MLS a viable investment for owners who may not see their own clubs generate revenues, and has remained a key facet in ensuring the league’s growth and its solid financial standing, compared to past defunct U.S. professional soccer efforts.

For MLS, any decisions would have to be agreed upon by the owners as well as the MLS Players Association. Given the lofty expansion fees many paid to enter MLS, including the most recent fee of $500 million paid by San Diego FC in 2023, owners likely would not sign on and risk taking a hit to franchise values should a team suffer relegation.

And unlike Europe, MLS fights for relevancy with other major sports, and a certain percentage of fans would likely tune out and turn focus to another sport if their team were to suffer relegation.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for our league,” Berg said. “I think [outgoing commissioner] Don Garber has said before, ‘never say never,’ but I just don’t see it happening anytime soon.”

Promotion/Relegation Coming to U.S. Soccer

USL Championship — The USL is bringing promotion and relegation to U.S. soccer in 2028. | Ray Bahner/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images

While MLS isn’t going to bring in promotion and relegation, the system will make its way stateside as the United Soccer League is set to introduce it as soon as 2028, with plans to create a three-tier pyramid and maintain a summer-based season.

The USL is seeking U.S. Soccer Division I status for its new USL Premier, which would give it level standing to MLS, and its league system operates without a single-entity structure. The new promotion/relegation system will see teams move between the new top-tier USL Premier, second-tier USL Championship and third-tier USL League One, with each team having to prepare for the rigors financially and carry the costs of playing at each level.

Operating in smaller markets and not often sharing proximity with MLS clubs, the USL has carved out a passionate fanbase across the three levels in the U.S., with even its semiprofessional USL League 2—a short-season summer competition—garnering significant support in many communities.

MLS will no doubt be watching how the promotion and relegation system evolves in the USL. But, as Garber and Berg said, there’s no reason to say it will “never” come to MLS—but any hopes of bringing it into the league in the near future are unrealistic.

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