New Promotion and Relegation structure for Dutch soccer and a US league adds it while growing

4 Dec, 2014 2 Comments

While the Dutch have employed Promotion and Relegation among their top professional divisions for decades, the entire pyramid was not “open” and tied together in the same way that the English system currently is until Monday with… 

The amateur and professional leagues in the Netherlands will be interlinked more closely from the 2016-17 season in a new football pyramid. The decision was taken on Monday by the KNVB’s Federal Assembly.

READ MORE ABOUT THIS DECISION TO OPEN THE DUTCH PYRAMID HERE

In the United States yesterday one of the top amateur leagues in the nation announced that it will be going forth with Promotion and Relegation with a new Premier Division…

The United Premier Soccer League announced today that it is launching the UPSL Pro Premier Division that will begin play May 2015, which will follow the conclusion of the Winter 2014/15 UPSL regular season.

The UPSL Pro Premier Division will consist of the top 10 teams that qualify from both conferences during the regular season. The UPSL will also invite six new teams that are pre-qualified by the league, to participate in the UPSL Pro Premier Division giving the newly created UPSL Pro Premier Division, 16 teams.

The UPSL currently consists of two conferences (Western Conference & South/East Conference – 22 teams) covering Los Angeles County which includes Los Angeles County, Orange County and the Inland Empire with expansion plans that include a footprint throughout California.

READ MORE ABOUT THIS EXCITING DEVELOPMENT IN US PROMOTION AND RELEGATION HERE

Some will ask why should we be excited about some amateur league in California implementing Pro/Rel? One reason is that this league includes some of the top clubs in the nation including

A PSA Elite club who beat USL-Pro’s LA Galaxy 2 club 3-1 in US Open Cup play this year.

A Santa Monica Sporting FC club who is respected enough to have played the Panamanian national team in 2013 in their preparation for the Gold Cup. 

Among some other very strong clubs including Pen Mar FC, Santa Ana Winds FC, and the LA Wolves FC who you can find at the provided Twitter links.

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