Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports . Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in various sports. They generally have lesser fan bases, much smaller revenues and salaries, and are used to develop players for bigger leagues.
83-532: The minor league concept is a manifestation of the franchise system used in North American sports , whereby the group of major league teams in each sport is fixed for long periods between expansions or other adjustments, which only take place with the consent of the major league owners. In Europe , and many other parts of the world, association football (soccer), basketball, american football, baseball, handball, hockey, etc. leagues have many divisions below
166-578: A salary cap in an effort to maintain a level of parity between franchises. Football in England developed a very different system from that in North America, and it has been adopted for football in most other European countries, as well as to many other sports founded in Europe and played across the world. The features of the system are: European football clubs are members both of a league and of
249-400: A closed membership system and do not have promotion and relegation . It is organized in a way that assures the teams' continued existence in the league from year to year. On occasion a league may decide to grow by admitting a new expansion team into the league. Most of the teams in the four major North American leagues were created as part of a planned league expansion or through the merger of
332-651: A club in the top league until a local club plays well enough to be promoted into the Premiership. Famously, the French Ligue 1 lacked a team from Paris, France's capital and largest city, for some years. Likewise, Berlin clubs in the Bundesliga have been rare, due to the richer clubs being all located in the former West Germany. As well as having no right to being in a certain tier, a club also has no territorial rights to its own area. A successful new team in
415-619: A few differences varying from country to country. A similar situation exists in countries in Central America and the Caribbean, where football and baseball share several close markets. A major factor in the development of the North American closed membership system during the 19th Century was the distances between cities, with some teams separated by half of the North American continent, resulting in high traveling costs. When
498-714: A geographical location can come to dominate the incumbents. In Munich , for example, TSV 1860 München were initially more successful than the city's current biggest team Bayern München . As of the current 2024–25 season, London has 13 teams in the top four league levels , including seven Premier League teams. Clubs may be sold privately to new owners at any time, but this does not happen often where clubs are based on community membership and agreement. Such clubs require agreement from members who, unlike shareholders of corporations, have priorities other than money when it comes to their football club such as tradition or local identity. For similar reasons, relocation of clubs to other cities
581-459: A given season compete in a tournament, with the winner being crowned champion of the league for that season. These have their roots in the long travel distances common in US and Canadian sports; to cut down on travel, leagues are typically divided into geographic divisions and feature unbalanced schedules with teams playing more matches against opponents in the same division. Due to this, not all teams face
664-640: A governing body. In the case of England, all competitive football clubs are members of The Football Association , while the top 20 teams also are members of the Premier League , a separate organization. The 72 teams in the three levels below the Premier League are members of still another body, the English Football League . The FA operates the national football team and tournaments that involve teams from different leagues (except
747-493: A high ranked club in their native city must buy a local club as it stands and work it up through the divisions, usually by hiring better talent. There have been some cases where existing owners have chosen to relocate out of a difficult market, to better facilities, or to realize the market value of the land that the current stadium is built upon (A famous example being the Relocation of Wimbledon F.C. to Milton Keynes ). As in
830-691: A lesser extent ARCA and its ARCA Menards Series since ARCA's buyout by NASCAR in 2018); Monster Jam 's Triple Threat Series; Overwatch Contenders ; the FIA Formula 2 Championship and FIA Formula 3 Championship for Formula One ; and various other affiliated satellite tours of other individual sports, including the Challengers Tour of Professional Tennis. Professional sports league organization Professional sports leagues are organized in numerous ways. The two most significant types are one that developed in Europe, characterized by
913-545: A major league team, or affiliated with one, and utilized for player development. For example, Major League Baseball operates Minor League Baseball . The minor clubs do not move up or down in the hierarchy by on-field success or failure. Professional ice hockey has a system somewhat similar to baseball's (without as many levels), while the National Basketball Association operates a single NBA G League . The National Football League does not have
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#1732783341185996-501: A minor league system as of 2024 but it has operated or affiliated with minor leagues in the 1930s , 1940s , 1960s , 1990s , and the early 2000s and invested in one in the late 2000s . Men's soccer has multiple minor leagues. The United Soccer League operates two of these, the second-level USL Championship and the third-level USL League One . Major League Soccer operates the third-level MLS Next Pro , consisting primarily of reserve sides of MLS teams. Another third-level league,
1079-467: A playoff tournament of the teams that finished third through sixth. In the 2011–12 season, the teams Wolverhampton Wanderers , Blackburn , and Bolton were relegated to the Championship. They were replaced by Reading , Southampton , and West Ham . The two former teams had won automatic promotion, while the latter occupied the last promotion spot when they defeated Cardiff 5–0 on aggregate in
1162-476: A reserve team in the USL or officially affiliate with a separately owned USL team, but this was never strictly enforced. No formal relationship existed between NASL and the other leagues; NASL's commissioner had said he believed it would "stay that way for some time". However, MLS clubs started withdrawing their reserve sides from the USL system in 2020 amid rumors that MLS would relaunch its former MLS Reserve League in
1245-667: A rival league. Only one team in the National Hockey League (the Montreal Canadiens ), for example, existed before becoming part of the NHL. The rest of the teams were created ex novo as expansion teams or as charter members of the World Hockey Association , which merged with the NHL in 1979. American and Canadian sports leagues typically have a " playoff " system where the best teams in
1328-549: A team from the expansion conference – Detroit Arsenal – won the league in its first year after its eastward expansion. The NPSL expanded further in 2007 with the addition of a new Northeast Conference and five new teams from the eastern United States . The first team from the East to win the national NPSL title was the Pennsylvania Stoners in 2008. The league has since continued to expand, adding more teams throughout
1411-427: A tiered structure using promotion and relegation in order to determine participation in a hierarchy of leagues or divisions, and a North American originated model characterized by its use of franchises , closed memberships, and minor leagues . Both these systems remain most common in their area of origin, although both systems are used worldwide. The term league has many different meanings in different areas around
1494-702: A women's soccer league spawning a men's league. The league's first two champions were the Arizona Sahuaros , who had defected to the MPSL from the USL D-3 Pro League , and the Utah Salt Ratz . The league expanded into the Midwest in 2005 with the addition of several new teams and a new conference, and changed its name to National Premier Soccer League to reflect its new national footprint;
1577-656: Is a North American indoor soccer league that serves as the developmental league of the Major Arena Soccer League . Minor league baseball is almost as old as the professional game itself, and at first consisted of attempts to play baseball in smaller cities and towns independent of the National League , the first true major league. Soon, scouts for the National League were traveling to watch minor league teams play and attempting to sign
1660-442: Is a single business entity, with each team owner-operator being a league shareholder, and all player contracts are held by the league. Also similar to MLS, MLR uses playing rules set by its sport's international governing body. However, MLR teams do not play competitive matches against teams from other leagues, and there is currently no cup competition in U.S. rugby similar to soccer's U.S. Open Cup. The MLR league structure also follows
1743-406: Is generally used to determine membership of leagues. Most commonly, a pre-determined number of teams that finish at the bottom of a league or division are automatically dropped down, or relegated, to a lower level for the next season. They are replaced by teams who are promoted from that lower tier either by finishing with the best records or by winning a playoff. In England, in the 2010–2011 season,
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#17327833411851826-458: Is individually owned and operated, and is responsible for maintaining league minimum standards. New teams seeking membership into the NPSL are subject to approval from an executive committee of existing team owners. Member clubs have the right to make localized decisions for their respective markets, conferences, and regions based on what they believe is best for their particular region. Each conference
1909-490: Is managed by the individual member clubs and elects a conference commission each year. The current chairman is Kenny Farrell of the New Orleans Jesters . The costs to join the league as of 2016 are reported to be a one-time $ 15,000 franchise fee and a $ 5,250 annual league fee. The low entry fee compared to USL League Two's of $ 50,000 has made the league an attractive alternative to teams looking to compete at
1992-567: Is standard for sports in both countries , the formal promotion and relegation system is not used, although teams have been informally "promoted" from lower leagues up to Major League Soccer. The United Soccer League operates the USL League Two (formerly the Premier Development League, or PDL), a semi-professional league that has some age restrictions. The National Premier Soccer League operates at approximately
2075-493: Is the most prominent of the minor hockey leagues in North America. Minor League Cricket (MiLC) is a developmental league of Major League Cricket that began play in 2021. Other sports organizations considered to be minor leagues are golf's Korn Ferry Tour and Epson Tour , respectively affiliated with the PGA Tour and LPGA ; NASCAR 's Xfinity Series , Camping World Truck Series and Whelen All-American Series (and to
2158-418: Is very rare. This is mostly because virtually all cities and towns in Europe have a football club of some sort, the size and strength of the club usually relative to the town's size and importance. Buying an existing top-flight club and moving it to a new location is problematic, as the supporters of the town's original club are unlikely to switch allegiance to an interloper. This means anyone wanting ownership of
2241-769: Is widely used in football around the world, notably in Africa and Latin America as well as Europe. The most notable variation has developed in Latin America where many countries have two league seasons per year , which scheduling allows because many Latin American nations lack a national cup competition. Another notable variation is the Brazilian system of two parallel league systems each with its own separate promotion and relegation, one national and another on state-level,
2324-923: The 2015 season . Another example of a franchised league in European sport is ice hockey 's Kontinental Hockey League , centered mainly in Russia with teams also located in Belarus , China , and Kazakhstan . Rugby union also has a European-based franchised league in the United Rugby Championship (historically the Celtic League, Pro12, and Pro14). It was founded with teams in the Celtic nations of Ireland , Scotland , and Wales , and later added teams outside those nations, first from Italy and then South Africa . The promotion-relegation system
2407-677: The Arena Football League in the mid-2000s, prior to its bankruptcy and restructuring. Arena football is played under very different conditions, and the AFL had its own minor league, af2 , until 2009. Several other independent indoor football leagues that play a similar game exist. Similarly, the Canadian Football League , though it has developed ties with the NFL in recent years and has moved away from competing with
2490-499: The ECHL . On "the farm", the NHL team will develop young players, occasionally rehabilitate older players who are injured or whose quality of play has slumped. These teams, in turn, have lower-level minor leagues to draw players from and pass players down to. Minor professional ice hockey leagues should not be confused with Junior (amateur players) or Senior (semi-professional to amateur) ice hockey leagues. The American Hockey League
2573-817: The EFL Cup , operated by the English Football League and open to its own teams and those in the Premier League). In conjunction with FIFA and other countries' governing bodies, it also sets the playing rules and the rules under which teams can sell players' contracts to other clubs. The rules or Laws of the Game are determined by the International Football Association Board . The Premier League negotiates television contracts for its games. However, although
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2656-737: The Football Alliance , was then formed in 1889. When the two merged in 1892, it was not on equal terms; rather, most of the Alliance clubs were put in the new Football League Second Division , whose best teams would move up to the First Division in place of its worst teams. Another merger, with the top division of the Southern League in 1920, helped form the Third Division in similar fashion, firmly establishing
2739-679: The National Football League (NFL). The NFL and its teams have had working relationships with several independent leagues in the past, including the Association of Professional Football Leagues , the Atlantic Coast Football League , and most recently, the league owned-and-operated NFL Europe . In modern times, the NFL has developed players not ready for the active roster through each team's practice squad . Several NFL owners had purchased teams in
2822-535: The National Independent Soccer Association , is totally independent. None have a promotion/relegation system, although many teams have moved between levels, either by invitation or by choice. To prevent conflicts of interest , most North American sports leagues that operate on the franchise system do not allow individual owners to hold an interest in more than one franchise at once. Most such leagues also use revenue sharing and
2905-457: The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs was established in 1876, its founders judged that in order to prosper, they must make baseball's highest level of competition a "closed shop", with a strict limit on the number of teams, and with each member having exclusive local rights. This guarantee of a place in the league year after year would permit each club owner to monopolize fan bases in their respective exclusive territories and give them
2988-634: The Professional Women's Hockey League and its de facto predecessor, the Premier Hockey Federation ) or are forced to operate in the pure single-entity model when investors fail to materialize (such as the Stars Football League ). Many North American systems have a secondary or minor league but without promotion and relegation of teams between them. Often a minor league team is partly or wholly owned by
3071-641: The UEFA Champions League , operated by the Union of European Football Associations . A Premier League team might play a league game one week, and an FA Cup game against a team from a lower-level league the next, followed by an EFL Cup game against a team in the EFL, and then a fourth game might be against a team from across Europe in the Champions League. The promotion and relegation system
3154-689: The United States Soccer Federation , but through the affiliated United States Adult Soccer Association . The USL organization has announced plans to create a full women's developmental pathway, establishing the semi-professional third-level USL W League (USLW; not to be confused with its former W-League) in 2022 and planning to launch the USL Super League (USLS) in 2023. The USL has applied for U.S. Soccer sanctioning of USLS; it has not yet announced its sanctioning plans for USLW. The Major Arena Soccer League 2 (M2)
3237-481: The Western United States , which has now expanded nationwide to encompass teams from 29 states. The league's motto is "A National League with a Regional Focus". The National Premier Soccer League is divided into four separate regions (Northeast, South, Midwest, and West). Each region is divided into conferences with a varying number of teams per conference. The regular season runs from May to July with
3320-429: The top-flight level as part of the football pyramid . In other parts of the world there is usually either a system of annual promotion and relegation , meaning that clubs have no fixed status in the hierarchy, or there is only one professional league per country in each sport, rendering the major/minor distinction irrelevant. While there are various semi-professional football leagues, none have any affiliation with
3403-467: The "NBA D-League") and NBA Summer League . The now-defunct Continental Basketball Association (CBA) served some of the purposes of a minor league for the NBA for many years. However, there were no direct developmental agreements between CBA and NBA teams the way that there are between Major League Baseball and National Hockey League teams and their minor league affiliates. Pro Semi-Pro The sport with
Minor league - Misplaced Pages Continue
3486-569: The NFL for talent, plays a visibly different game than the American game, and the two sports favor different types of skills; the CFL arguably holds major league status in its home territory of Canada . Several minor or developmental leagues, independent of the NFL, have come and gone. Some, such as the Alliance of American Football and Fall Experimental Football League (along with the FXFL's successor,
3569-619: The NPSL in USASA qualifying has encouraged a movement by which the league could have automatic berths in the final tournament. The furthest a team from the NPSL has reached in the US Open Cup during the professional era (1997 and onward after the entry of MLS teams) has been the third round. However, the Brooklyn Italians have won the US Open Cup outright before the existence of either MLS or the NPSL. Although no team has ever won
3652-495: The North American model of one premier league without promotion and relegation. A more rarely seen business model in North America is the pure single- entity league, typified by the two incarnations of the XFL , where there are no individual owners or investors, with all teams centrally owned and operated by the league. Many upstart leagues begin their existence as pure single-entity leagues before they secure investors for teams (such as
3735-536: The North American system due to American influence on the game. In cricket , the Indian Premier League , launched in 2008, also operates on this system. The Super League , which is the top level of rugby league in the United Kingdom and France (and included a Canadian team for several years), was run on a franchise basis from 2009 to 2014 , but returned to a promotion-relegation model with
3818-641: The Pacific islands as a whole (mainly Samoa and Tonga) but is based in New Zealand. Super Rugby also formerly featured franchises in South Africa, Japan, and Argentina. In east Asia, places such as Japan , China , South Korea and Taiwan have a particular differentiation among leagues: "European" sports such as football and rugby use promotion and relegation, while "American" sports such as baseball and basketball use franchising and minor leagues, with
3901-509: The Short-Season A level eliminated from the minor leagues, and all leagues above Rookie level in the affiliated system renamed. Also, four independent leagues were officially designated as "MLB Partner Leagues". In 2022, the leagues renamed in 2021 reverted to their traditional names. The National Basketball Association has affiliated minor leagues: the NBA G League (formerly called
3984-722: The U.S., team relocations have been controversial as supporters of the club will protest at its loss. Leagues around the world generally follow one or the other of these systems with some variation. Most sport leagues in Australia are similar to the North American model, using post-season playoffs and no relegation, but without geographical divisions, with the most notable examples being the Australian Football League ( Aussie rules ) and National Rugby League ( rugby league ). Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan uses
4067-582: The USASA sanctions affiliated, but separately run, national leagues that are recognized in practical terms as playing at a higher level than the USASA state association leagues; for example, they receive automatic berths to the US Open Cup. In November 2022, USASA announced it had established a Tier 1, which would be its top national tier. This designation would be based on financial stability and sustainability. After 20 years of association with USASA, NPSL would become their first Tier 1 league. The National Premier Soccer League attracts top amateur talent from around
4150-590: The United States. NPSL does not have any age limits or restrictions, thus incorporating both college players and former professional players alike. In the fall of 2024, NPSL announced the establishment of regional conference leagues that will provide a path for more teams to reach the Tier 1 status full NPSL teams have with USASA. The first conference will be the Pacific Conference and will exist of
4233-458: The advent of television; minor league clubs only survived in many markets because their major league affiliations included financial support. The trend began to reverse in the 1990s, as new independent minor leagues began for the first time in decades and have become successful to varying levels. In 2021, a major reorganization of the minor leagues saw the number of affiliated teams (i.e., those with formal links to MLB teams) reduced from 160 to 120,
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#17327833411854316-480: The asset value of their shares in the club collapse. Some leagues offer a " parachute payment " to its relegated teams for the following years in order to protect them from bankruptcy. If a team is promoted back to the higher tier the following year then the parachute payment for the second season is distributed among the teams of the lower division. There is of course a corresponding bonanza for promoted clubs. The league does not choose which cities are to have teams in
4399-439: The close geography of the teams throughout the league. The most notable rivalry was the Rust Belt Derby contested between Detroit City FC , AFC Cleveland , and FC Buffalo . The name refers to the teams' shared region, the Rust Belt . Another intense rivalry existed between the San Diego Flash and San Diego Boca/Force FC , which were crosstown rivals in San Diego . Until the 2013 sale and rebranding of Force FC from Boca FC,
4482-523: The coming years; these rumors were proved correct by the 2022 establishment of MLS Next Pro . MLS Next (stylized in all caps) is a system of youth soccer leagues that are managed, organized and controlled by Major League Soccer . It was introduced by the league in 2020. Semi-professional and amateur leagues sanctioned by the United States Adult Soccer Association are USL League Two , National Premier Soccer League , NISA Nation and United Premier Soccer League . The system, introduced in mid-2020,
4565-492: The competition only by a vote of current members; typically, a new place is put up for bid by would-be owners. The "franchise system" was introduced in baseball with the formation of the National League in 1876 and later adopted by the other North American leagues. Although member teams are corporate entities separate from their leagues, they operate only under league auspices. North American teams do not play competitive games against outside opponents. The leagues operate in
4648-409: The confidence to invest in infrastructure, such as improved ballparks. This in turn would guarantee the revenues needed to support traveling across the continent. In contrast, the shorter distances between urban areas in England allowed more clubs to develop large fan bases without incurring the same travel costs as in North America. When The Football League, now known as the English Football League ,
4731-400: The entirety of the country. Since its inception, the league has managed to place at least one team actively playing under its banner into U.S. Open Cup competition. Though the showing of the NPSL in US Open Cup play was typically only one or two teams in its first six years, the 2009 and 2010 cups have seen four and three, respectively, NPSL teams in each tournament. The recent success of
4814-418: The exception of the West Region that has historically started in late March or early April. The NPSL currently has automatic berths in the U.S. Open Cup where they gain eligibility towards the CONCACAF Champions League . The National Premier Soccer League began in 2003 as the Men's Premier Soccer League (MPSL) initially as an offshoot of the Women's Premier Soccer League , and marked the first instance of
4897-428: The following six teams: JASA Redwood City, Marin County SC, Racing Sacramento City FC, Real San Jose, San Leandro United FC, and Yemen United California. The new conference will start in the fall of 2024. The NPSL is organized in a mostly decentralized structure and is managed as a team-run league. Each year the member clubs help elect a chairman, treasurer, and secretary and an eight-member board of directors. Each team
4980-428: The highest level of amateur play. The league requires that all teams play in stadiums with at least 500 seats, a scoreboard, and locker rooms with showers for both teams and officials. The home team is also responsible for providing water and food for the visiting team, ensuring there is a trainer or doctor on-site for the match, and paying the referees fees at the end of each game. Mitre Sports International provided
5063-423: The large number of American-based teams is that minor league franchises will frequently move from city to city, and even between leagues. In contrast, Canadian cities more commonly host major junior teams, which develop teenage prospects prior to their move to the professional leagues. All National Hockey League teams have a farm team in the American Hockey League and often have a secondary affiliated team in
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#17327833411855146-414: The league twice, the Miami FC camp has won the championship twice as a club. Its reserve team (Miami FC 2) won the 2018 title, and its first team (Miami FC) won the 2019 championship. Officially the USSF does not recognize formal levels of the soccer pyramid below the professional 3rd tier. The USSF does not officially recognize distinctions between amateur soccer leagues in the United States. However,
5229-475: The more talented ones away. Soon Major League Baseball began formal developmental agreements with some minor league teams, while others remained independent . Since it was first developed in the 1920s by St. Louis Cardinals executive Branch Rickey , the formal developmental affiliations have come to dominate minor league baseball, and the majority of minor leagues are part of the affiliated system. A general decline in minor league attendance occurred following
5312-444: The national league would be the dominating competition in which a club might participate, there are many non-league fixtures a club might play in a given year. In European football there are national cup competitions, which are single elimination knock-out tournaments, are played every year and all the clubs in the league participate. Also, the best performing clubs from the previous year may participate in pan-European tournaments such as
5395-444: The next most extensive system of minor league teams other than baseball is ice hockey . In North America, between 1988 and 2005, 233 minor league ice hockey teams played in a total of 160 cities in 13 minor professional leagues. The vast majority of these teams played in the United States, with only 21 of these teams based in Canadian cities. 123 of these minor professional teams played in the southern United States. One reason given for
5478-440: The official ball for the NPSL starting in 2014. Global Scarves began providing custom soccer scarves throughout the league, and worked with the NPSL on various events and contests to increase awareness and fervor throughout the 2014 NPSL season. Renegade GK, hummel, MyCujoo, Passage, Carbon Athletics, GCG Sports, Activate Canopy, and HomeLight are all listed as current business partners (2021). Many NPSL teams have rivalries given
5561-539: The others as non-league or cup games, even though the separate competitions may be organized by the same governing body. Also, there is a rugby football code called rugby league , which is distinct from rugby union . Professional sports leagues in North America comprise a stipulated number of teams, known as franchises, which field one team each. The franchises have territorial rights, usually exclusive territories large enough to cover major metropolitan areas, so that they have no local rivals. New teams may enter
5644-470: The ownership groups of the two clubs were previously partners in the original San Diego Flash club of the A-League that competed from 1998 to 2001. The NPSL Members Cup, originally called the NPSL Founders Cup, was a competition that ran from August to October 2019. It was initially intended to lead to a new professional league beginning play in the spring of 2020. However, following the departure of numerous previously announced teams and issues in launching
5727-417: The principle of promotion and relegation. National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League ( NPSL ) is an American men's soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup . It is the successor of the Men's Premier Soccer League , a regional league originally based in
5810-486: The professional league the tournament was altered. Detroit City FC won the cup on October 16, 2019, when the team defeated Michigan Stars FC , 1–0, in the penultimate game of the tournament. Executive committee NPSL board of directors NPSL leadership staff In April 2020, the NPSL launched a competitive gaming competition to promote the growth of the league in new areas. The league hopes to "bring its community members together for friendly competition on
5893-612: The pyramid structure normally found in football, but instead follows the tradition of Australian sports having a franchise model and a post-season playoff system. This model better suits a country with a few important central locations where a sport needs to ensure there is a team playing with no risk of relegation. Likewise, the American franchise model is used by rugby union's Super Rugby , which features 12 non-European franchises. Australia and New Zealand have five franchises each; one franchise represents Fiji but currently plays most of its "home" games in Australia; and one franchise represents
5976-563: The same level as USL League Two. In 2013 Major League Soccer announced a partnership with the USL organization which began formal affiliation between some USL teams and MLS teams. The partnership continued to deepen through the 2010s; by the end of that decade, most MLS teams fielded their reserve teams in the USLC, while a few had their reserve sides in USL1 instead of the USLC. For several years, MLS nominally required all of its teams to either field
6059-445: The same opponents, and some teams may not meet during a regular season at all. This results in teams with identical records that have faced different opponents differing numbers of times, making team records alone an imperfect measure of league supremacy. Major League Rugby , which began play in 2018 as the second attempt to launch a professional rugby union competition in the U.S., has a business structure identical to that of MLS. It
6142-469: The same teams play both leagues each year. The European model is also used in Europe even when the sports were founded in America, showing that the league system adopted is not determined by the sport itself, but more on the tradition of sports organization in that region. Sports such as basketball in Spain and Lithuania use promotion and relegation . In the same vein, Australia's A-League Men does not use
6225-466: The semifinals, and defeated Blackpool 2–1 at the final in Wembley Stadium. The system originated in England in 1888 when twelve clubs decided to create a professional Football League . It then expanded by merging with the Football Alliance in 1892, with the majority of the Alliance teams occupying the lower Second Division , due to the divergent strengths of the teams. As this differential
6308-608: The still extant but non-paying The Spring League ), have explicit minor league and developmental aspirations. Others, such as the United Football League and both the 2001 and 2020 incarnations of the XFL, have sought to maintain independence and maintain a national profile while acknowledging the lack of funds (particularly from television, which is by far the NFL's largest revenue stream) that would be needed to compete for NFL-caliber talent. The UFL during its existence
6391-544: The teams Birmingham City , Blackpool and West Ham United were relegated from the Premier League to the Football League Championship , the second level of English football. They were replaced by the top two teams from the second level, Queens Park Rangers and Norwich City , both of which won automatic promotion, as well as Swansea City (a Welsh club that plays in the English system), which won
6474-499: The top division. For example, Leeds , the fourth-biggest city in England, saw their team, Leeds United , relegated from the Premier League to the Championship in 2004, and went without top-flight football for 16 seasons before United returned to the Premier League in 2020. During this period, United were relegated again to the third-tier League One in 2007 and returned to the Championship in 2010. Any city that loses all of its Premier League clubs to relegation will continue to be without
6557-480: The world, and its use for different concepts can make comparisons confusing. Usually a league is a group of teams that play each other during the season. It is also often used for the name of the governing body that oversees the league, as in America's Major League Baseball or England's Football League. Because most European football clubs participate in different competitions during a season, regular-season home-and-away games are often referred to as league games and
6640-531: Was active for the first time during the 2020–21 season. It is a successor to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy . The system covers the under-13, under-14, under-15, under-16, under-17 and under-19 age groups. The developmental pathway for players outside the collegiate system has so far been mostly an ad hoc affair, with semi-professional and amateur leagues including the former USL W-League . The current United Women's Soccer , UWS League 2 and Women's Premier Soccer League not being sanctioned directly through
6723-431: Was founded in 1888, it was not intended to be a rival of The Football Association but rather the top competition within it. The new league was not universally accepted as England's top-calibre competition right away. To help win fans of clubs outside The Football League, a system was established in which the worst teams at the end of each season would need to win re-election against any clubs wishing to join. A rival league,
6806-508: Was overcome over the next five years, the winners of the Second Division went into a playoff with the worst placed team in the First Division , and if they won, were promoted into the top tier. The first club to achieve promotion was Sheffield United , which replaced the relegated Accrington F.C. Relegation often has devastating financial consequences for club owners who not only lose TV, sponsorship and gate income but may also see
6889-514: Was recognized and accepted as the second tier of professional football behind the NFL, with several former NFL stars playing in the UFL near the ends of their careers. High-level Low-level High-level Mid-level Low-level Below Major League Soccer several lower-level leagues operate on both sides of the U.S.–Canada border as part of the American and Canadian soccer pyramids. As
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