The USL is officially vying for men’s Division One status, with plans in place to launch a top-tier league – one that would share D1 status with MLS – by 2027-2028. First broken in a report by The Athletic featuring comments from USL president Paul McDonough, the news has potentially massive implications for the American game, and especially so for the league’s member clubs.
McDonough has acknowledged the possibility of integrating promotion and relegation across what would be a three-tier USL pyramid, but the logistical questions go far deeper.
U.S. Soccer sanctions leagues under a set of bylaws known as the Pro League Standards.
Those rules dictate that a men’s first division league must have 14 clubs by the third year of operation, all of which must play in stadiums with a minimum capacity of 15,000. Each team must have a principal owner with at least a 35% stake in the team with a net worth of at least $40 million or a group of owners with a combined net worth of at least $70 million. Three-quarters of the league’s market must also have a metro population of 1,000,000 or more, covering at least three time zones.
