The Soul of Soccer: What the USL Gains with Promotion and Relegation

Football was never meant to be a closed shop. Around the world, clubs rise and fall on merit—earning their place through passion, performance, and community support. But in the United States, that dream is locked behind corporate b0ards and franchise fees. While MLS clings to a business model that protects investors and stifles ambition, a different vision has been promised for the USL. This isn’t just a question of league structure. It’s a battle for the soul of soccer in America—between those who see clubs as entertainment products and those who believe they should belong to the people—rooted in communities, not corporate portfolios.

American soccer fans have been sold a cheap imitation. Conditioned by decades of franchise sports and consumer spectacle, many don’t even realize what they’re missing. There’s no drama in guaranteed survival. No underdog stories. No heartbreak, no glory—just sanitized, brand-safe entertainment designed to extract dollars, not inspire dreams. In a culture obsessed with control, comfort, and commercialism, promotion and relegation feels dangerous. But that danger is exactly what gives soccer its soul!

That’s where Offside Empire comes in. We’re part of football's global resistance movement that is rooted in radical values that multinational corporations can’t touch. While ESPN churns out “Power Rankings” based on team performance and predicted momentum, we offer a different kind of scorecard. Our Power to the People rankings measure the deeper metrics of ownership, culture, and solidarity. Is the club owned by billionaires and corporations, or by the fans and their community? How is its culture, food, media, and merch produced and shared? Does the organization stand with the people in moments that matter, or does it silence them? This is how we separate Empire clubs from People's clubs.

And here's why Promotion and Relegation (P/R) is important: it isn’t just a sporting mechanism—it’s a philosophical stance. It’s about meritocracy over monopoly, opportunity over entitlement, and local dreams and ambitions over stifling centralized control.

When it comes to Ownership, P/R is inherently democratic. It says: “If your club earns it on the pitch, you belong at the top. If you fail, you fall.” MLS’s closed system and the USL's current system are anti-democratic and truly un-American. Franchises are shielded from failure, and access is bought with a multimillion-dollar expansion fee—not earned. The USL clubs that are currently advocating for P/R—especially fan-owned or community-first clubs—show they believe in football as a commons, not a cartel.

In a P/R system, home-grown authentic Culture and local community investment (we're not talking merely about dollars) matter. Your ticket purchase, your signs, your chants, your time spent volunteering, can help lift your club to a higher division. Without P/R, local clubs are often just static entertainment products capped at their current level, with little upward mobility or reason to dream big. Clubs that embrace P/R culture show a commitment to circular, grassroots-driven football economies.

A genuine dynamic Promotion and Relegation system would build Solidarity on multiple levels. It would nurture regional growth, open doors for emerging players, and spark fresh narratives that would reshape identities and breath new life into entire communities. It would also help to prevent billionaires from hoarding top-tier status. Instead of protecting legacy clubs, P/R opens doors for working-class towns, immigrant-run teams, or Indigenous clubs to rise. Advocacy for P/R is a solidarity move—it decentralizes power and democratizes success.

For all of these reasons its obvious why so many U.S. investors fear the idea of Promotion and Relegation in American soccer. Yes, P/R introduces uncertainty. It can raise or drop the valuation of a club overnight, which is not good for making long-term projections with accounting spreadsheets. The MLS model gives investors security, predictable returns, and a “brand-safe” league. On the other hand, the P/R system shifts power to the pitch and away from boardrooms and capital. But that’s exactly why it’s good for soccer.

The USL has promised to introduce promotion and relegation across a new structure of three levels: Division 1 (D1) → Championship (D2) → League One (D3). If the USL follows through on their plans it would:

• Attract new fans tired of corporate domination over American sports
• Develop more sustainable and self-sufficient local economies
• Empower community-owned clubs with a real path to the top
• Reward good governance and sustainability over marketing prowess
• Create high-stakes drama at every level of the pyramid
• Encourage long-term local investment in youth development and infrastructure
• Show that merit, not money, determines destiny
• Revive the romantic idea that any club can rise—no matter how small
• Strengthen solidarity across regions by linking local stories into a national narrative
• Give players more visibility and upward mobility within the same league system
• Position the USL as the spiritual home of the beautiful game in the U.S.A.

Last-day survival.

Cinderella stories.

Fallen giants.

That’s much more than just good TV—it’s soccer with soul.

Let's support the USL's plan to make it happen!