Back in 2020, when Greenville Triumph SC won the championship of USL League One, I remember thinking how bittersweet it was. At the time I was a resident of the city, so I was happy for them, of course. After all, my local soccer team had earned a crown, and that’s a big deal. But in just their second season, they’d already hit the ceiling.
Without a system of promotion and relegation – the standard in international association football – there was nowhere to go. The USL Championship was atop the pyramid in the United Soccer League system, and its lineup of franchises was set. A Triumph title in a lower circuit didn’t secure passage to a higher one.
But that’s all about to change.
Today the USL announced that a supermajority of owners voted to implement pro/rel. The news – some of the biggest in U.S. soccer history, if you ask me – comes on the heels of the organization’s plan to create a new Division One league starting in 2028.
“A new chapter in American soccer begins,” Alec Papadakis, CEO of the United Soccer League, said. “The decision by our owners to approve and move forward with this bold direction is a testament to their commitment to the long-term growth of soccer in the United States. This is a significant milestone for the USL and highlights our shared vision with our team ownership to build a league that not only provides top-tier competition but also champions community engagement. Now, just as it is in the global game, more communities in America can aspire to compete at the highest level of soccer.
“It’s time.”
Once the Division One league is formed, the USL Championship – already considered second division by United States Soccer Federation standards – will remain in that spot while League One will be D3. (The USL system also includes League Two, which is a developmental league with 74 teams).
USL officials have hinted for years that they were open-minded about pro/rel, but it never seemed to get beyond the talking stage.
The National Independent Soccer Association, on the other hand, was founded in 2017 with the intent of creating a pathway pyramid, but that didn’t happen. As of now, NISA is struggling to even stay afloat. It’s not sanctioned by USSF for 2025 and has long been overshadowed by MLS Next Pro and League One.
And Major League Soccer never has and never will consider it. In 2024 Forbes estimated that the average MLS club is worth $658 million.
League commissioner Don Garber famously (infamously?) said this about pro/rel in 2015:
“If you’re investing billions and billions of dollars, which we are now at about $3.5 billion invested (in MLS) in twenty years, to build something in Kansas City and they have a shitty season, to think they might be playing in Chattanooga in a stadium of 4,000 people on a crappy field with no fans, makes no sense.”
Garber later apologized (and Chattanooga FC is now part of MLS Next Pro), but the point was made. It’s a closed league and it’s staying that way.
Thus, the boldest step possible in domestic soccer is finally being taken by the USL.
“Promotion and relegation transforms the competitive landscape of American soccer,” Paul McDonough, President and CEO of the USL, said. “With the 2026 World Cup and other major international events approaching, we have a unique opportunity to build on that momentum and create a sustainable future for the sport in the U.S. Fans and stakeholders have been clear – they want something different. They’re drawn to the intensity of high-stakes competition, where more matches have real consequences – just like we see in European leagues.
“This shift challenges the status quo and brings a level of excitement and relevance that can elevate the game across the country.”
I’m truly excited about this. Moving up or dropping down based on sporting merit has long been a defining feature of international soccer, and soon – in the USL – every single match will matter. Few things are as dramatic as seeing some clubs climbing up the ladder and others desperately trying to avoid falling off.
Obviously, there are plenty of major details to be worked out. We don’t even know who’ll comprise the top division once it kicks off in 2028. And USSF Pro League Standards require first division clubs to play in stadiums that seat at least 15,000, which could create problems for those in cozy, smaller confines.
Still, this is major news for a circuit determined to take on Major League Soccer. And the investors who buy into the premiere division of USL will know exactly what they’re getting into.
Even though I no longer live in Greenville, I’m still gonna keep a close eye on the Triumph and root for their success.
Winning a trophy in 2020 was cool.
But winning promotion? That’s gonna be so much cooler.