Beyond The 90'

Beyond The 90'

Share this post

Beyond The 90'
Beyond The 90'
Promotion and Relegation in the USL League System : Seven key factors to discuss

Promotion and Relegation in the USL League System : Seven key factors to discuss

We can't do sustainable promotion and relegation overnight, unfortunately

Kartik Krishnaiyer's avatar
Kartik Krishnaiyer
Apr 02, 2024
∙ Paid
15

Share this post

Beyond The 90'
Beyond The 90'
Promotion and Relegation in the USL League System : Seven key factors to discuss
12
2
Share

I’ve seen in the last few weeks a lot of PRO/REL advocates angry at USL Championship growth. I discussed this on Twitter the other day, but I realize that isn’t the place for long-form content or fleshing out the entire picture with multiple perspectives. Therefore I am expanding that discussion here and giving more background on what is actually happening.

I understand the sentiment that demands instant promotion and relegation and have sympathy for it, but several key factors have to be worked through by USL before they institute a system of promotion and relegation.

Promotion and Relegation must happen long-term for the United States to compete at the highest level in this sport. However, as the sport becomes increasingly driven by financial considerations, skeptics of promotion and relegation view any piece of data or club failures as evidence it cannot work in the United States.

So it’s necessary for it to be done right the first time. USL is facing an onslaught of sorts from MLS on the men’s side while picking a battle with NWSL on the women’s side. Therefore USL needs to differentiate itself in the market and promotion and relegation is likely the way to go - but it cannot happen overnight.

Below I outline seven critical factors and components of this conversation.

Beyond The 90' is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. We cover USL, NISA and NPSL in-depth in addition to other aspects of world football in both the men’s and women’s game

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Beyond The 90' to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Kartik Krishnaiyer
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share