MLS..USL...CSL...cant' figure out....

[fannorth]

Hello everyone, first let me start of I am a newbie to the Forum so cheers to everyone. I have tried to figure out the answers to the Questions I am about to ask but can't quite figure everything out. I am from Warsaw, Poland(don't remind me about their WC...performance) where the Football structure is pretty much straight forward, but not perfect... Everytime I come to Canada to visit my parents Canadian Football is at a stalmate...OK here is my Question(which consists of a few parts):

MLS is considered is considered in North America(Canada-USA) as the....TOP football level one can achieve, right?

USL has Division 1 & 2....that are...considered below MLS? Which in fact makes them (D2-3)...

None of them is releated to one another?!?! In fact they are competeing with eachother, right? And most important there is not RELEGUATION!!!!

OK, MLS has the main teams and their Reserves so technically there is no releguation. But USL has DeFacto D1-D2...wouldn't it make it more interesting to the fans And media is let's say the two Bottom teams get releguated to D2 and the 3rd Bottom team playoff to stay in D1? I guess it's about the money...If one pays to be in D1 he dosen't want to be releguated. But having MLS & USL created a Split in the System instead of helping it, right? Whitecaps, Impact & Lynx USL D1 and then you have Toronto in MLS WTF??????

Now CSA is the equivallent of the polish PZPN it oversees the league...that dosen't quite exist?!?! So what is the function of the CSL? Can someone untagle the web for me...I went around the web and forum but got kind of lost in the whole structure.

My second question is WHY Can't there be:

MLS (as D1 DeFacto)

USL (incorporated, renamed, etc. into MLS as D2-3)

With RELEGUATION from one Division to another. The teams must have a minimum stadium of let's say 5k+ to play in D1...3k+ D2...1k+ D1...

The pay scale can be controlled to meet costs/expenses a minumum of 7-8 players out of 11 on the field be Canadian Citizens...(thus developping youth, plus giving them something to aspire to)

You could also have not only the Division(read Premiership title) but also a Cup D1-D2 playing against each other. Of Course the countries being quite big would be divided into East/West Conferences in D2-3(with the Top spot going to the 2Bottom teams releguated to D2 from D1...)

The CSL could oversee the STANDARDIZED Development NationWide of youth players. With each Province Association having the same Strucutres. I guess we need to have someone with GUTS in the CSA to shakedown the foundations. You need to give in order to get something in return. I can imagine that MLS and USL don't like each other but hey it's GOOD for the Game and the People.

Well enough said sorry for the spelling mistakes but I have been living in Canada/Poland on and off nonstop so sometime I am translation from Polish to English(and ViceVersa) in my head while typing...lol

PS: What the hell in CSL National Division and International Division??? in the bottom right corner of their website?

http://www.pzpn.pl/ (CSA equivalent)

http://www.legia.pl/ (My home team)

http://www.legia.com.pl/pl/index.php (Unoficcial Website)

http://www.legialive.pl/ (another one)

http://www.powiatowykibic.pl/ (4D actually NOW 3D club I go see whenever I can)

[An Observer]

you will never get regulation in north america and as sports teams are run as franchises....moreover, having the top league as separate entity is well established in Europe so why the MLS and USL should join doesn't necessarily make sense. The premiership is separate entity to the Football league and has been since its establishment in the early 90s.

[Long Distance]

quote:Originally posted by An Observer

you will never get regulation in north america and as sports teams are run as franchises....moreover, having the top league as separate entity is well established in Europe so why the MLS and USL should join doesn't necessarily make sense. The premiership is separate entity to the Football league and has been since its establishment in the early 90s.

...but there is promotion & relegation between the Premiership and the Football League in England, despite the fact that they are separate entities, and throughout Europe as well, but then these clubs are not franchises.

[Calgary Boomer]

I agree with Observer. There's no way promotion-relegation will ever happen in North America mostly becuase of economics, and geography. I don't see anything wrong with having all 3 tiers under one umbrella, and especially competing for a league cup. However, size of market, size of stadium and regional geography will dictate who's in what league, and not promotion relegation.

[NJ]

Where to start?

As others have said, no relegation. The MLS and the USL are soccer leagues but they are also North American soccer leagues and in North American sports there is no relegation. Its about the money. No one is going to invest $15 million in a franchise, another $20 million plus in a stadium and then be told they're being relegated. Additionally, since it's North America, there will be play-offs, all-star games and the teams will have official nicknames.

The MLS is a separate entity and the premier division for North America. The USL - the United Soccer League not US Soccer - runs the next three levels. The USL 1st Division is an international league running franchises in Canada, the US and Puerto Rico. The lower levels, 2nd Division and Development League, are run on a regional basis. There is a hole in the system right now in that the 2nd Division is only represented in the eastern part of the US (ie, no western division).

I don't see the MLS and the USL as direct competitors. They are well-organized and well-run entities that have different target markets. Frankly they're in it together - (developing soccer in North America) - and the success of one benefits the other. This is not to say that the MLS' actions might not hurt the USL since certain USL franchises or cities aspire to join the MLS.

Canada does not currently have a similar set-up to the USL that sets criteria and controls entry of leagues and teams into different divisions. Given the size of Canada, its population and the current popularity of soccer in Canada, it is probably unrealistic to develop the full soccer pyramid on a standalone basis anytime soon. The current system of leveraging the MLS and the USL 1st Division for the top leagues makes sense in terms of finances and long-term stability.

What is missing in Canada is some kind of cross-country organization to co-ordinate and control the quality of the various lower-level regional leagues (ie, PCSL, CSL, AMSL, etc.) that currently exist and promote and manage a national championship tournament or play-off system. Such a cross-country organization could oversee a series of regional leagues that would be equivalent to the USL 2nd Division and Development League. Like anything else, organizing this would take time, effort, commtiment and sacrifice from the interested parties.