Mar 15, 20193 min read

Guest Post: Promotion & Relegation

About this post:

Today's blog post serves two purposes. It is written by my son Nicholas who is 11 years old and a committed soccer player. I'm sharing this post first because I am proud of him and the work he put into it, he doesn't enjoy writing but he enjoys soccer so he took the time to research and form an opinion for this Persuasive Essay assignment and also I want to share with all of you

who have considered online public school such as OHVA for your player. We chose online school so that he can focus on his athletic training. OHVA has been a great choice for my son, it is rigorous and flexible and has allowed my son to grow academically while also improving his game without the stresses of school. Aaaaand he can wake up naturally which I think is important for all pre-teens and teens.

Promotion and Relegation, Important for US Soccer

Major League Soccer, (MLS) is the top league in the U.S., based not on merit but on the owner’s ability to purchase a team or expansion teams. According to the website prorelforusa.com the U.S., Canada and Australian federations are the only leagues in the world without an open promotion relegation system. This means U.S. soccer is not following FIFA’s international requirements. This is not an equitable process because more talented teams do not have a chance to play in the MLS because they do not have the funding. Without promotion relegation developing players do not have a chance to play with an academy at high levels in some parts of the country. U.S. soccer will be more competitive with a promotion and relegation system and U.S. soccer should adopt this standard.

According to Terrence Brennan of Medium.com U.S. Soccer violate's FIFA's standards. Article 9 paragraph 1 of FIFA's regulation's governing federation requires a promotion relegation system. "Promotion and relegation must be based on sporting merit" FIFA states. Promotion and Relegation is when the top 3+/- of a lower division's teams get promoted to the above division, and when the top division's lowest 3 +/- are relegated or moved down to the lower division. By abiding by FIFA's rules the U.S. will be more competitive with soccer in the rest of the world.

Many teams in lower level divisions would have an opportunity to move up and play against more competitive competition in a promotion and relegation system. Also the conferences would be taken out and that would help the competitive nature because you need to win every game and not just ones in your conference and it would take the teams at the bottom and make them want to compete harder.

Currently, the MLS does not allow teams to advance to other divisions based on sporting merit. More opportunity for advancement is placed on ticket sales and making money. Promotion and Relegation would actually make more money because more people would go to the lower divisions games because their games would have a purpose.

With a Promotion and relegation system there would be more academies and opportunities for kids to become professionals. It would also help soccer grow in the U.S. and help women’s soccer get bigger and produce more great women players. More academies would also help make better people and help them interact with others.

U.S. soccer will be more competitive with a promotion and relegation system and U.S. soccer should adopt this standard. By following FIFA’s international requirements. A promotion and relegation system will help more talented teams have a chance to play in the MLS because advancement will be based on merit. With a promotion and relegation system developing players have a chance to play with an academy at levels and be more competitive.