The North American Soccer League (NASL) has been in headlines as of late thanks to the league’s commissioner, Bill Peterson, echoing a sentiment held by many American soccer fans. Peterson said that he wants soccer in America to adopt the global structure of promotion and relegation. Currently the game here follows the same blueprint used by other American professional sports, independent leagues with no movement between the divisions. MLS, the tier one professional soccer league in the United States, has fiercely opposed the implementation of promotion and relegation, but NASL commissioner Bill Peterson appears determined to change that.
In a recent interview with the Telegraph Bill Peterson said, “We believe that the global model is the right model – I learned this personally from living in England [working for NFL Europe] and having people pound me over the advantages of having a tiered system with promotion and relegation versus a closed system and they were right.”
Noteworthy is that Peterson isn’t the only figure in American soccer calling for the implementation of adoption of promotion and relegation here stateside. USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsman has, for sometime now, called for the American game to adopt such a system. To date the United States is the only major soccer-playing country in the world that does not have such a pyramid structure.
To that point, Peterson wasn’t the only league commissioner to call for a promotion and relegation system here in the states. National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) chairman Joe Barone also recently called for the American game to adopt such a system. Barrone didn’t stop at just joining Peterson in calling for America to adopt the global structure for the game. He went a step further. Barone said that he wants a merger between the NPSL and NASL.
In a recent interview with the Telegraph Barone said, “I want promotion and relegation with NPSL and NASL 100 per cent. I am pushing with Bill immediately – and I am talking about within the next couple of months as their season winds down – that we put in a process where something can come together and within a time-line of say five years to have a sustainable ownership group at the bottom that is able to move to the top. As the chairman and commissioner of NPSL I am working very closely with the NASL to put this whole project together, where we can work towards building the bottom so we can get these teams promoted to an upper league. We’ve been communicating for a while – we’ve had a number of talks.”
A merger between these two leagues is, in my opinion, going to be necessary for the implementation of a promotion and relegation system here in the United States. As we know, in order to have a pro-rel system a pyramid structure is necessary. A merger, as described by NPSL commissioner Joe Barone, would be a very big and very important first step.
The NASL currently is home to 13 teams, including the two newest expansion teams along with Minnesota United FC who is poised to join the MLS very soon. The NPSL is home to 65 teams. So what is clear is that between the two leagues there are more than enough teams to allow for two (or more) very solid divisions to operate a promotion and relegation system. But, Peterson said something of note, expressed a thought that I’d like to expound upon. He said, “Maybe we’ve got to start to look at aligning with other leagues to start put the pieces in place.” A merger of leagues to bring promotion and relegation to the US game doesn’t have to end with just two leagues. It could include more.
One such league that could be considered is the recently established American Soccer League. (ASL) The ASL, who played it’s inaugural season just last year, was founded and is headed by world renowned soccer player and coach Matt Driver. The ASL, as of right now, is home to 11 teams, all mostly existing on the east coast, with three more committed to joining the league in 2016. Being the ASL is essentially the 5th rung on the American soccer ladder it would serve as a great 3rd tier for a new promotion relegation soccer pyramid that includes the NASL and NPSL.
The NPSL and ASL would be the ideal partners for the NASL to team up with to bring a promotion relegation system state side. The NPSL and ASL are home to teams that are built on the local level. They offer teams that have support right now on a grass roots level, if I may borrow the term from political scientists for just a moment. These local built teams are the ideal candidates for building a promotion relegation system with. The promotion relegation system offers these teams something; hope. In a promotion relegation systems these teams have the opportunity to work their way up the soccer pyramid. The fans have something to look forward to, reaching the top of the pyramid. The players have something to play for, a goal for which they are striving. A promotion relegation system would the perfect system for teams that are playing in the NPSL and ASL.
Let’s not forget the NASL though. They too are the ideal candidates for the top slot in a promotion relegation system of play in America. The NASL is currently the second tier league in America’s soccer pyramid. In a promotion relegation system they would be the top slot. Being there would also give the current teams in the NASL something to play for, not being relegated. This system would create a consequence for playing poorly. It would, ideally, provide some of the struggling teams with motivation to not play poorly. It would, again ideally, cause every game in the season to matter. Now, the NASL has already implemented a season schedule to just this. The NASL’s split season model accomplishes both of these things. (We are seeing that being played out right now.) But a promotion relegation system would certainly add more drama and flare to the mix, making for a much more intense experience for fans.
Additionally each league would be bringing something different and valuable to the table. The NASL for example is an already well established league with name recognition and some historic teams and players who are attached to it. (The New York Cosmos, Pele, etc.) The NPSL brings a whole host of teams to the mix (65) many of which are well established on the local level and have great deal of support locally. (Chattanooga FC for example recently drew a record crowd of 18, 227 in the NPSL championship match.) The ASL also brings some well established local teams to the mix, such as the famous Philadelphia Furry. Each of the leagues brings a world class team of commissioners and chairmen in Bill Peterson, Joe Barone, and Matt Driver. Each of the bring the talent, knowledge, and experience necessary to make a promotion relegation system successful in America. In his interview with the Telegraph Joe Barrone threw out the time frame of five years. Five years is, in my opinion, a reasonable time frame to make this happen.
American advocates of the promotion relegation system will have to keep their fingers crossed and wait and see what comes of these talks between Peterson and Barone. We can only hope that we are on the threshold of seeing this finally happen.
