Promotion and relegation is the subject that won’t go away in American soccer.
Proponents think it’s the golden ticket that will win the hearts and minds of fans, allowing American soccer to compete with European leagues. These European leagues promote the best teams and relegate the worst teams from one league to the next in their well-developed soccer pyramids. Detractors worry it could destabilize a system that’s finally approaching stability after decades of perilous failures across various leagues.
If pro-rel ever comes to the professional ranks in the United States, the USL is the likeliest place for it to take root. The second-division USL Championship is set to have 26 teams next season, while third-division USL League One will expand to a record-high 17 clubs. The topic has come up at the USL’s Board of Governors meetings in the past and will continue to linger.
In the meantime, though, some organizations are already making a promotion-like jump to move from USL League One to the Championship. Certain clubs have that option as part of their membership in the USL. North Carolina FC led the way in 2024, and Lexington Sporting Club is set to do the same in 2025.
After speaking with people and observing both clubs, Backheeled takes you inside the strange world of being promoted – in a country without promotion and relegation.
The dual approaches for North Carolina and Lexington illustrate how the USL is changing and what it’s prioritizing in its next phase of growth. North Carolina was a Championship club in the first place, having joined the league in 2018 after a spell in the NASL. Their choice to self-relegate in 2020 was driven by off-the-field considerations and was meant to be temporary.
