GENEVA (AP) – A long-running lawsuit looking to force promotion and relegation on to Major League Soccer has failed.
Lower-tier clubs Miami and Kingston Stockade filed a challenge in 2017 with the Court of Arbitration for Sport against FIFA, North American soccer body Concacaf and the U.S. Soccer Federation.
Miami owner Riccardo Silva, the former head of media rights agency MP & Silva, sought to disrupt the closed MLS system of new clubs paying franchise fees up to $200 million.
The clubs' case cited a sub-section of FIFA statutes stating ''a club's entitlement to take part in a domestic league championship shall depend principally on sporting merit.