The issue of promotion and relegation in MLS has been debated for decades. Fans, pundits and league officials have gone back and forth on the subject tirelessly. League commissioner Don Garber has broached the idea multiple times in recent years. The topic keeps coming up again. This week, Garber toyed with the idea again.
The commissioner says ‘never say never’
Speaking to The Athletic, Garber gave hope to those who want to see promotion and relegation in MLS. “This is ‘never say never,’” Garber said. “I’ve been pretty consistent on that. We must not shy away from having the courage to evolve over time.”
“And as the league continues to grow and evolve, and our fan base and market continue to grow and evolve, I don’t see any reason why we wouldn’t be thinking about new structures. I don’t see how that works today, but I can’t look far enough into the future to say never.”
When asked how other leagues can rise and fall, Garber replied:
“They don’t have to build stadiums with their own money and then if they don’t win, they suddenly have to play in another league,” he said. “And no disrespect to any other league, I learned my lesson from comments I made about Chattanooga many years ago, there is no such thing today where I can have the economic environment to be able to support promotion and relegation. That could exist sometime in the future, maybe long after I’m no longer commissioner, but life is a long time.”
MLS vs promotion and relegation: Garber has a history of being indecisive on the subject
However, Garber has made similar claims before. During a 2009 interview, the commissioner said that implementing the new structure would not work, but stated that it would be reviewed later.
“Unfortunately, our country does not have the infrastructure to support ascent/relegation at this time,” Garber declared more than a decade ago. “We will continue to monitor this, but it will likely be at least 10 years before promotion or relegation can be considered.”
Two years later, in 2011, Garber addressed the situation once more. “[It’s not going to happen] soon ”, proclaimed the commissioner. “I think it would be an exciting thing for us to be able to do it. But the structure of the American leagues is such that it is almost impossible to think about that in the short term.
“I think the rest of the soccer community thinks it’s strange that all of a sudden the Vancouver Whitecaps show up in our league. We sell them an expansion team and all of a sudden they’re playing instead of moving up.”
Despite revisiting the promotion and relegation debate for years, plans for a possible change in structure have not really gained traction. Garber’s comments perhaps appease many soccer fans because they may believe that promotion/relegation will eventually come. However, it seems highly unlikely that MLS will make any changes while he is commissioner.
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