Jay Heaps spoke exclusively to Birmingham Sports Media about the USL's decision to implement promotion and relegation in the future, and his hopes for its impact on the Legion and U.S. soccer
by Timothy Belin
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - March 22, 2025
On Wednesday, the United Soccer League announced a momentous decision for the sport’s future. With a supermajority vote, the league opted to become the first professional sports league in the country to adopt a promotion and relegation model.
This system, used in nearly every other soccer league around the world, sees the best teams in each lower division climb up a rank, while the worst-performing ones drop down an echelon to compensate. Coupled with the announcement of a new USL Division I league that hopes to start play in 2028, a designation that would put it on par with Major League Soccer, change is coming for all USL teams.
On Friday, Birmingham Sports Media sat down with Jay Heaps, president and general manager of Birmingham Legion FC, to discuss the decision's ramifications for the club.
Part I: Making the Decision
“We were a “yes” vote, but for me it’s a “yes” vote with a lot of work that still needs to be done,” Heaps said. “From both USL, from a league standpoint; US Soccer, from a pyramid standpoint in terms of where we fit in Division I, Division II, Division III; and then also collectively as a professional team like Birmingham Legion, where do we want to be in the next three to five years when this really starts to take place?”
Discussions surrounding a potential promotion and relegation system have been around for years in the American soccer landscape, with a near-constant debate over the value and drawbacks of implementing it in the States. By making this decision, USL has moved the conversation from a hypothetical to a practical one, but that does not mean it has all the answers.
Heaps said discussions have been ongoing at the USL level for over two years, with numerous studies conducted on the feasibility of the proposal. One of the biggest stumbling blocks is currently the U.S. Soccer Federation’s Professional League Standards (PLS), which requires a minimum net worth for the team’s investor group and a stadium capable of holding at least 15,000 fans for all Division I teams.
These restrictions, if upheld for the future USL Division I league, would prevent smaller teams from achieving promotion even if their sporting achievements merit it. As such, there is still a long way to go.
“There’s nothing set in stone,” Heaps said. “I think the key for this vote was to get some momentum, to then be able to have these next conversations. … There’s a lot of things that are defined by U.S. Soccer previously to set the Division I, Division II, Division III, none of it with promotion and relegation in mind.
“That’s why we’re working with U.S. Soccer to think through it separately than MLS,” he added. “Think through it in the eyes of this ecosystem of USL.”
Even without all the answers, the time felt right for USL owners in part because of the approaching 2026 World Cup, set to be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States. Though the national team let its fans down with its recent home-soil Copa America and Nations League disappointments, soccer fervor is still expected to climb ahead of the arrival of the sport’s biggest spectacle.
That timing forms a fascinating parallel with MLS, which itself was created around the first FIFA Men’s World Cup to be hosted in the U.S., back in 1994. Like USL, MLS announced its plans for a Division I league one year prior to the competition’s arrival (1993) and started play two years after it had departed (1996). Though Heaps stressed that the USL is not purposefully following the MLS playbook, he said it is no coincidence the World Cup is part of the league’s growth plan.
“I think the common denominator is the World Cup,” he said. “The fact that the World Cup is here in the U.S., all eyes are on the global game. And so can you be front and center to do that?
“I think [the USL are] following the same idea that the global game is going to be here,” he added. “FIFA is going to be here. I think from a promotion/relegation story, that will gain some attraction because now you’re going to have the rest of the world looking at a new league in a way. Or not a new league, but a new division that could align with promotion/relegation. That’s going to get eyes on it, so I do think the timing of it has a lot to do with the World Cup.”
This is Part I of a three-part series. Check back tomorrow for Part II, where Jay Heaps discusses his beliefs surrounding the benefits of a promotion/relegation model. Follow @TimothyBelin_ and @BirminghamSport on X/Twitter to be notified when Part II releases.