The debate over promotion and relegation has once again gained momentum in MLS, but the response from the top of the league was direct and blunt.
Don Garber, commissioner of Major League Soccer, ruled out the possibility of implementing this system in the short term, making it clear that the priority remains the stability and growth of soccer in the United States.
Don Garber rules out the possibility of promotion and relegation in MLS
The discussion resurfaced after Landon Donovan, a historic USMNT player, publicly asked whether MLS owners would be willing to move toward a promotion and relegation model. Garber’s response left no room for interpretation: “No. Why would they?“
For the commissioner, MLS should still be understood as a work in progress.
We are a league that is still a startup, even after 30 years
Comparing his role to that of a CEO managing high-risk investments, Garber made it clear that MLS has no plans to change its format in the immediate future as, in his view, introducing relegation would be incompatible with the current state of the league.
The weight of the economic factor on sports in MLS
Garber defended his position with a central argument: investment. He explained that MLS has required “billions and billions of dollars” to consolidate its growth. That investment is reflected in specific stadiums, training centers, youth academies, administrative structures and marketing campaigns.
In addition, he highlighted the labor impact of the project. “We have 10,000 employees throughout the league. We should be proud of that,” he said.
From this perspective, relegation would put at risk not only the clubs, but also the entire structure that has been built over decades, something that both Garber and surely the rest of the owners of the first division clubs in the United States would not be willing to accept.
MLS is not Europe
The commissioner also drew clear differences with the European model. He acknowledged the competitive appeal of promotion and relegation, especially in the fight to avoid relegation, but noted that in Europe there are multiple additional economic incentives.
Although Garber noted recent advances driven by CONCACAF and the growing international profile of North American clubs, he avoided closing the door definitively:
I don’t know what the world is going to look like in three, five, ten or twenty years. So why say never?
For now, MLS will maintain its closed model, focused on expansion, economic stability and the sustained growth of soccer in the United States.Promotion and relegation will remain a recurring theme, but its arrival in American soccer, at least in the short term, is unlikely.
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