MLS famously does not compete within a system of promotion and relegation. In fact, no league of any real relevance in the United States has ever used the mechanism that has been the standard for the global club game for over a century. But why doesn't MLS use pro/rel? League brass, media personalities and fans […]

The failure rate of American soccer clubs in the United States is the worst in the world. It's abysmal, both on the men's and women's side of the game. From 1992 to present, the United States has seen more than 150 men's and women's professional soccer teams go out of business. However, listen to any […]

Promotion and relegation is simply the way soccer works, and always has, in most nations. But when it comes to pro/rel in the United States, it's largely a non-starter. The US league structure that emerged in the early 1900s was one of fractured, competing league entities. This was party due to a large geographic area, […]

Professional US soccer leagues look fairly similar to their counterparts in other American sports, and always have for the most part. You have a league with teams located in (mostly) large towns dotted across the entire continent. And once you get enough teams, it's broken into regional divisions for scheduling purposes. MLS, USL, NISA, and […]

The latest episode of the World Soccer Talk Podcast is presented by Sling. Hosted by Christopher Harris and Kartik Krishnaiyer, this episode discusses how Wrexham is increasing the interest in lower-league soccer in the United States. The success of the fifth division team was the biggest soccer story from this past weekend, arguably bigger than […]

From the bottom to the top, we take a deep dive into discussing what US lower league soccer clubs (and leagues themselves) need to improve in order to be more relevant in 2023 and beyond. This also includes a discussion of the complexity of the current system, and how the US Soccer Federation can make […]

The sport of soccer has grown, stabilized, and improved significantly in the United States over the past few decades. But despite gains in many areas, the fact remains that US soccer lags behind other nations in substantial ways. It's not for lack of history with the sport. The United States has had organized, professional, amateur […]

Supporters and members actually owning part of their favorite clubs is not uncommon across the soccer world. In some places, such as the German Bundesliga, it's actually a league rule. But fan ownership in MLS is impossible. A practice that allows a community to directly control its own local club seems a logical idea. So […]

American soccer has always done things a little differently from the rest of the world. Whether it's experimenting with the rules (countdown clock, 35-yard offside line, and shootouts), the lack of promotion and relegation, or using playoffs to decide a champion, we've always been at least a little out of step with the rest of […]