United Soccer League owners voted on Tuesday to implement a system of promotion and relegation among the USL's multiple divisions, a historic first for professional soccer — and all sports — in the United States.
The European model, whereby clubs earn promotion to more prestigious leagues or relegation to lesser leagues by finishing at the top or bottom of their current league, has spread widely across global soccer. But top-flight U.S. leagues have always been "closed" entities; franchises have a fixed place, and the only way to join the league, which functions like a cartel, is to find a rich owner who'll buy their way into it.