Soccer’s Future in America Hangs in the Balance as Kewsong Lee Steps into USL Power Seat
For the cost of one MLS team, you could own 20+ USL League One clubs with a chance to rise in cities that have been denied a slice of the pie, but pretty soon, they could have a chance to play in a top-flight soccer league.
As opposed to just about every single country in the world, professional American soccer does not feature promotion/relegation. MLS team owners recognize that there is absolutely zero chance of their club ever suffering relegation to a lower tier – they have a permanent seat at the table – and as such, the cost of purchasing a club has skyrocketed.
Take the example of the most recent MLS expansion franchise San Diego FC. In 2023, an ownership group led by Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation paid a record-setting $500 million expansion fee to join the league (100 times what the first expansion fees were three decades earlier when MLS started).
Post Comment