Well leave it to a wealthy business owner floating around one of the most heated a most polarizing idea in American Soccer. On Monday July 24, Riccardo Silva who owns International media company MP & Silva and owns Miami FC of the NASL offered 4 billion dollars for Major League Soccer’s media rights on one condition, that the league institute a system of promotion and relegation. Groups of Soccer head cult in America are pushing and are advocating that Major League Soccer adapt Promotion and Relegation in hope the league could compete with some of the top soccer leagues in like the English Premier League, La Liga, Seria A, The German Bundesliga and the French Ligue 1, that currently have Promotion and Relegation and for those who want to attack me for having my own head on the ground like an ostrich with my tail sticking high in the sky, let me say I like the concept of Promotion and Relegation to the point that I wish we had it the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association and National Hockey League. I wouldn’t mind seeing my once beloved Rams that are now back in Los Angeles after that backstabber Stan Kroenke, moved the team out of St.Louis, get relegated and played some team like the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. There are enough lousy teams that currently play in the big major four North American Sports League that deserve to be Relegated and should work there way up to Promotion. But to all of you soccer fans who are so fixated want to be like English Football PLEASE stop, we are NOT yet ready for Promotion and Relegation and for good reason. Major League Soccer’s currently as an eight year agreement with ESPN, Fox Sports and Univision Deportes that extends to 2022 season. Plus Silva under his control wanted to broker rights for foreign and domestic broadcasters, that would have taken away Major League Soccer’s right to choose its domestic outlets, not a very good idea.
But here’s other reason why America Soccer is not ready for Promotion and Relegation, since the North American Soccer League was reborn in 2010 the league has lost 9 different soccer clubs either through poor ownership or other clubs moving up to Major League Soccer or to the rival United Soccer League. In fact the NASL spent several years fighting with Major League Soccer in hopes that the United States Soccer Federation were to give Division One status only to find themselves near extinction at the end of 2016 when Rayo OKC and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers folded while the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the Ottawa Fury switched to the United Soccer League. The NASL was given another resurrection for the 2017 after the United States Soccer Federation let the league maintain its 2nd Division status along with rival United Soccer League. Throughout the History of American Professional Soccer the number question, is the League stable financially. Right now only Major League Soccer as remained stable throughout the history of American Professional Soccer while Leagues like the old NASL and the Major Indoor Soccer League folded.
Currently Only eight teams are playing this season in the New North American Soccer League while the United Soccer League has Thirty teams playing and while both teams plans to expansion in the next couple of years the instability of a true 2nd Division Soccer League could rear it’s ugly head as both League fight to expand in cities other markets. And by the way another war is brewing as the United Soccer League will launch a 3rd Division to start playing in 2019 while another renegade 3rd Division Soccer League called the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) started by Peter Wilt, will play in 2018. FUN TIMES ISN’T. In order to have Promotion and Relegation the U.S. Soccer Pyramid need to have a stable 2nd and 3rd Division Soccer which you don’t have at this point. Let me say that I praise Mr.Silva for wanting to see American Soccer grow and floating the idea of having Promotion and Relegation but Major League Soccer is still in it’s infant stage and you don’t feed a baby red meat right away. A better idea, if he’s willing to offer $4 Billion dollars to Major League Soccer why not use that money for better use in the lower division in soccer? Mr. Silva should use that money and help merge the NASL with USL along with NISA and have Promotion and Relegation through lower division that will grow American Soccer and could one day force Major League Soccer hand into adopting Promotion and Relegation. In the meantime Soccer fans be patient.
1974A 