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MLS commissioner Don Garber is willing to admit that at some point in the future promotion and relegation could exist in the United States, but also suggested that he sees no way “for that to work today.”
“That’s the never-say-never thing,” Garber said. “I’ve been pretty consistent about that. We shouldn’t lose the courage to evolve over time. And as the league continues to grow and evolve, and the foundation of “As our fans and the market continue to grow and develop, I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t think about new structures. I don’t understand how that works today, but I can’t look that far into the future to say never.”
In one extensive interview with Athletics This week, Garber disputed the idea that interest in MLS is limited by the lack of promotion-relegation, but acknowledged that the league could learn more about the interests of global fans as it strives to become a more widely consumed league around the world. the world.
Garber also highlighted the differences between the sports landscape in the US and that which exists in Europe, South America and elsewhere.
“They shouldn’t build stadiums with their own money and then, if they don’t win, suddenly they have to play in another league,” he said. “And no disrespect to any other league — I learned my lesson with it comments I made about Chattanooga many years ago — it doesn’t exist today at all where you can have the economic environment to be able to support promotion and relegation. That may exist at some point in the future, perhaps long after I’m no longer commissioner, but life is a long time.”
Inter Miami coach Phil Neville made a splash recently when he suggested that MLS take “bold decisions” and evaluate the possibility of deciding promotion and relegation. Garber spoke at length on the subject. MLS’s closed system is unique to global soccer, where teams are given the opportunity to move up and down the pyramid from year to year.
By all accounts, MLS has never considered adopting that system. Nashville SC CEO Ian Ayre it was once called the idea of MLS owners voting for promotion and relegation similar to “turkeys voting for thanksgiving”.
Some observers of the global game have suggested that MLS’s lack of promotion and relegation is a contributing factor to its struggle to capture a wider audience, particularly overseas, where few consume the league.
“I’m not sure I fully agree with the premise that you’re not going to force an international soccer fan to commit to an MLS club, or league, because there’s no promotion and relegation,” Garber said. “We’re going to have to agree to disagree that’s what drives the energy around the fans’ desire. It’s an aspect of it, but I think there’s an overemphasis on that concept.”
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Garber also pointed to the fact that the NBA and NFL do not use the concept and remain popular overseas.
“There’s no promotion and relegation in the (other U.S.) major leagues,” he said, “and people will follow them. . . . However, there is promotion and relegation in basketball (globally.) It’s structured like the leagues of football. And yet no one is really following (those leagues) around the world as one would hope.
“I think the real question is: Can MLS create a global audience with a global partner that will make our game more accessible than ever before and perhaps more accessible than any other league in the world?”
Garber also discussed the popularity of continental competition as something that drives “inside” promotion and relegation to the major leagues. MLS teams battle for position to qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League, but that competition pales in importance — and prize money — to others around the globe.
“We don’t have that value yet,” Garber said. “If that value existed here, if the CONCACAF Champions League was paying what the European Champions League is paying and the competition to be a qualifier for that was so high, then we would have the internal drama that exists. in the other part. The world.”
However, Garber refused to close the door on potentially implementing the system at some point, suggesting that MLS is constantly evolving its business model.
“I’m the guy who raised all the money that’s in this league,” he said. “This is important. We want to continue to take advantage of this opportunity. If we find that there are ways we need to evolve, to grow a global audience so that we’re not just dependent on domestic revenue, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
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