# #ProRelForUSA



## younothat (Aug 6, 2017)

ACTION TAKEN TO ENFORCE PROMOTION & RELEGATION BY THE MIAMI FC & KINGSTON STOCKADE FC
Success Would Open US Soccer to Better Teams, More Fan Excitement and Greater Financial Success Aug 3, 2017
http://www.miamifc.com/news/2017/08/03/action-taken-to-enforce-promotion--relegation-by-the-miami-fc--kingston-stockade-fc

"Two American soccer teams, Kingston Stockade FC of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and The Miami FC of Division 2, today filed a claim with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to require the US Soccer Federation (USSF) to adopt promotion and relegation across all divisions in US soccer.

The claim contends that unlike the way the game is played throughout the world where results on the pitch define which division a team plays in, American teams are illegitimately blocked from the same opportunity because of the USSF’s failure to follow FIFA’s rules.

The international soccer federation (FIFA) requires its members to practice promotion and relegation. The claim simply asks the USSF, a FIFA member, to comply with FIFA's rules. By not practicing promotion and relegation, the United States and Australia are the only two members among FIFA's 211-member associations that violate this basic rule. In addition to FIFA, CONCACAF and the USSF are named as respondents in the claim.

Kingston Stockade FC and The Miami FC strongly believe openness and meritocracy should be the foundation of US soccer. Both American teams believe that the disregard of a critical FIFA rule in the US is detrimental to the sport of soccer in the US. It deprives millions of fans of a leading soccer product and denies hundreds of teams across North America access to opportunities and revenues to realize their sporting and commercial potential.

"When it comes to soccer success, America lags behind the rest of the world. One reason is because our system is not an open system and is actually blocked from becoming an open system," said Kingston Stockade FC owner Dennis Crowley. "By embracing pro/rel and using this tried-and-true system, we would have a greater ability to unlock additional soccer markets, reward investment in those markets, and create new talent pools within the United States."

"The closed system for soccer used here in the United Sates is in violation of FIFA rules,” said The Miami FC CEO Sean Flynn. “By adopting the rules followed by virtually every other soccer playing nation around the globe, soccer in America will be open, resulting in better teams through all divisions, compelling story lines to increase fan excitement and greater financial success for everyone involved in this beautiful game.”

CAS is the international body that has the authority to settle disputes of this nature. The USSF as a member of FIFA is bound by CAS’s rulings."

#ProRelForUSA


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