The Deloitte Sports Business Group has produced a preliminary assessment of factors for and against the introduction of promotion and relegation in professional club soccer in the USA.

1. 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
1.2
3.0
3.1
Professional club soccer in the USA:
Promotion and relegation
10 3253
1541 22
10 3253
1541 22
FIFA national team world ranking versus global population ranking
Global population ranking
Argentina MexicoBrazil USA
FIFA ranking (as at 15th September 2016)
Total number of players annually registered with US Youth Soccer (m)
MLS Commissioner
Don Garber on the scale
of MLS losses
(2014)
“well north
of $100 million
in annual
enterprise losses”
Stagnant attendance for MLS
ever-presents
CAGR from 1996 to 2015 in average
attendance for the eight ever-present
MLS clubs.
0.1%
First season attendance uplift for MLS entrants
Attendance impact for promoted and relegated clubs
Over 8:1 ratio of fans in favour of introducing promotion and relegation into US professional league soccer
2015/16 English Championship average
UK broadcast audience: Regular season
versus promotion playoff games (‘000s)
increase in average
attendance following
promotion to the
Premier League.
increase in average
attendance following
promotion to the
Bundesliga.
decrease in average
attendance following
relegation from the
Premier League.
decrease in average
attendance following
relegation from the
Bundesliga.
20% 25%15% 19%
98%
822%
76%
Seattle Sounders Montreal Impact Portland Timbers
Regular season
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
Playoffs
(Semi-finals and Final)
462
317
Low High
1,001
English Premier League (2009/10-2014/15) German Bundesliga (2010/11-2014/15)
Source: MP & Silva, EFL, Kantar.
Source: Survey of 1,058 US soccer fans (September 2016).