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Our City: Proposing A Brave New Major League Soccer
Our City is a weekly column dedicated to the fans and supporter's perspectives of Orlando City. Any feedback, comments, or questions? Find Kevin Mercer on Twitter @KevinMercer225
North American Soccer League Commissioner Bill Peterson made headlines last week when he announced the league has a vision for promotion and relegation in American soccer. The system used by virtually every league and soccer pyramid in the world outside of the United States has long been on the top of domestic soccer fans' wishlists. Quickly explained, teams finishing in the bottom of the league at season's end would drop a division down, while the top finishers would rise to the above division.
These calls for promotion/regulation share an increasingly complicated American soccer landscape. While attendance is steady in MLS, lower league clubs in Sacramento, San Antonio, and Louisville are bringing in impressive numbers. Even the National Premier Soccer League's — the de facto fourth division in the U.S. — Chattanooga FC is setting attendance records, with 18,227 showing up for a recent championship game.
These are only a few of the success stories that mirror our own Orlando City’s rise from a market not in consideration for MLS to its 21st team. The league continues to expand and look at new markets.
These two issues, the call for promotion/regulation and the expanding demand for professional soccer across the country could in many ways help one another. A traditional pyramid could give markets eager for professional soccer both a team and the hope that their club would have a chance in theory to rise to the top flight.
One major problem exists: Major League Soccer's cold shoulder to any and all promotion/regulation conversations. From the league's perspective, this makes sense. With clubs paying around $100 million to enter the league, what owner would want to wager that money to enter a league they could easily fall out of any season?
A completely understandable position. MLS has done a careful job of nurturing the American game to the generally successful league that exists today. Despite the loud knocking of the promotion/regulation barbarians at the gates, MLS wisely is protecting the investment it has made with U.S. Soccer to have a successful league, as well as their owners' investment.
Can MLS appease the promotion/regulation crowd, while continuing to expand? I would propose this as one solution.
The first thing to come to terms with is the simple fact that MLS will not open the door to other leagues. It won't happen, ever. So this proposal has to exclude the NPSL, USL, and NASL. Second, no owner of an MLS club will vote for a change that would see the potential for their club to not play in the top tier. These are the realities of the U.S. soccer landscape. This is not a personal bias, but simply my reading of the situation.
The only way forward in a promotion/regulation argument is to create something beyond the top tier, while letting go of any ideas of relegating a team out of MLS.
My proposal would see MLS restructure into two essentially separate leagues. A Western and Eastern Division, with teams added as needed until each league has between 20-24 clubs in each conference. These two "leagues" would play within their own division, with each team playing one another home and away — a system that mirrors most leagues throughout the world. This would help reduce travel for clubs, while at the same time helping to nurture regional rivalries.
These two leagues would operate separately and crown their own league champions under a larger MLS umbrella. There could be an inter-league championship between the top two finishers. The playoff system as it exists would be scrapped.
A reorganized and expanded MLS could follow a couple of models at this point to create a kind of promotion. The argument being that you can't send a team down, but you could send some teams up. The one I would propose could mirror the popular Champions League model, with a certain portion of the top of each league qualifying for a competition the next season. These games would instantly be more lucrative for teams qualifying, as they'd provide unique match-ups with teams and players not normally seen by local fans.
Imagine the draw of a one-time appearance by a star-studded LA Galaxy, for example. A game like this would become a must-see for fans, while also bringing in regional fans eager to get their one chance to see particular stars.
These match-ups also make great games for television. Beyond the additional revenue generated by extra games and their extra attendance, the league would have to find a way to make substantial rewards available for teams who do well in this competition to provide incentive.
This dual league structure with more clubs and a chance to qualify for a lucrative extra competition could give MLS a structure that at least addresses some of the complaints lodged by its critics, while actually benefiting the league with a better command of the American soccer landscape — all the while protecting the investment of its owners.
Rightfully, there are plenty of criticisms for such a structure. The first, that limiting East-West match-ups would hurt the league in some way. Consider David Beckham's MLS if he wasn't able to tour (and sell out) stadiums across the country. I think this is a fair critique, but it would also give added importance to qualification for the extra competition.
This revamped structure would mirror college football in a way, with its multiple conferences. Often times, in the NCAA structure the biggest and most successful teams never meet. This has never hurt its popularity, while providing a massive national fanbase.
A second criticism would be a fear of "watering down" the league. Again, a very legitimate concern. While most of us think of MLS as providing a service to the aging stars of Europe, its other function is to help develop the domestic game. Additionally, with more clubs and the increased attendances, the league and clubs could better afford quality international players, helping to continue the goal of becoming a top league in the world.
A final critique would be the existence of the CONCACF Champions League. While I enjoy the idea of this competition in theory, it has never been successful in the U.S. Matches against clubs unknown to domestic fans have always struggled to be an exciting draw.
I'd suggest MLS clubs withdraw from such a competition and replace it with a domestic "Champion's League." While I think this makes the proposed structure work, it feels a bit too insular. Perhaps there is room here for compromise to allow for both without playing too many games in a season.
I see the above proposal as part of a larger conversation happening in the U.S., involving both expansion and ideas of promotion/relegation. This is nothing near a defend-able thesis, so I welcome your comments, suggestions, and critiques. Would you watch a league like this? What would you change about this proposal?
What do you think?
Polling Closed
| Player | Votes |
| Yes! | 104 |
| No! | 174 |
| I’m not entirely sure | 47 |
Podcasts
SkoPurp Soccer Episode 144: Gotham Rewind, Seattle Preview, and More
The Pride finished their home schedule with a loss to Gotham and hope to finish their road schedule with a win in Seattle.
The Orlando Pride tried to send their fans home happy in their regular-season home finale, but despite an impressive overall performance against the league leaders, the Pride wasted numerous chances in front of goal and paid for two big mistakes at the back in what ultimately ended as a 2-1 loss in a season filled with far too many defeats. Solai Washington did so many things well, but despite a month’s worth of chances, she could only muster one goal. Still, it was a promising outing albeit in a developing story that won’t continue much longer this year.
We discuss the key plays, players, and moments, look back at our score predictions from last week, and select our Player of the Match.
This week’s mailbagbox asked us about Marta, the reasons for the Pride’s struggles in 2026, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.
Finally, we look ahead to Sunday’s season finale at the Seattle Reign. The Pride opened their 2026 season with a home loss to the Reign but would like to close it with a road win over Seattle to enter the off-season on a positive note. It won’t be easy, as the Reign are clinging to the last playoff spot and trying to catch rival Portland as multiple teams are trying to catch them. We look at Orlando’s attempt to play spoiler, check back on the series history, compare the teams’ positions in the table, provide our key matchups, and more.
Here’s how Episode 144 went down:
0:15 – The Pride finished their home schedule with a good performance but another poor result against the league’s top team.
20:07 – Our mailbagbox has questions about the GOAT.
38:26 – Seattle was the first 2026 opponent and will be the last 2026 opponent. We preview for the last time this season.
Podcasts
SkoPurp Soccer Episode 140: Bay FC Rewind, San Diego Preview, and More
The Pride keep their playoff hopes alive by eliminating Bay FC but things get tougher with San Diego visiting Friday.
The Orlando Pride remained perfect on the road against Bay FC with a 3-1 win on Sunday. Deuces were wild, as Haley McCutcheon, who wears jersey No. 2, scored in the second minute of both halves, and her two goals in California gave the midfielder her second brace of both the 2026 NWSL season and her career. Barbra Banda figured heavily in pulling defenders out of position on two of the three Orlando goals and assisted on Jacquie Ovalle’s right-footed thunderbolt in stoppage time to put the game away. But make no mistake, it’s not as if the Pride played well, turning the ball over often and conceding 28 shot attempts to the hosts.
We break down a road win that may have been more exhausting to watch than to play in (although I wouldn’t bet on it), check back on our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match.
This week’s mailbagbox asked us about Haley McCutcheon, where to most strongly place the blame for the Pride’s disappointing season, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.
Finally, we looked ahead to Friday, when Orlando will host San Diego Wave FC, looking to both complete a season sweep and to keep its faint playoff hopes alive. We look at the series history, provide our key matchups for the contest, and make our predictions for the final score.
Here’s how Episode 140 went down:
0:15 – The Pride improved to 2-1-1 under Yolanda Thomas, but a lot of good Cosette Morche saves were required to get that second win.
20:00- The mailbagbox asks us to play the blame game.
33:36 – The Pride continue to face California-based competition, but Friday’s opponent is much higher in the table than Sunday’s was.
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
Orlando City restarts its 2026 MLS campaign late tonight out west at San Jose.
Welcome to your match thread for a late night midweek matchup tonight between Orlando City (4-9-2, 14 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (10-3-2, 32 points) at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the only scheduled meeting between the teams in 2026 and the first time the teams have met since 2024.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of tonight’s match.
History
Orlando City is 3-1-3 in the previous seven MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions got their only away win in the series in the last meeting and enter tonight 1-1-2 on the road against San Jose.
The teams last met on May 18, 2024, with Jack Lynn coming off the bench to score the game’s only goal. Lynn’s strike in the 89th minute broke the scoreless deadlock and lifted the Lions to a 1-0 victory.
The teams met in Orlando most recently way back on June 22, 2021, with the Lions beating the Quakes down, 5-0. Orlando got things started with an early penalty kick goal by Nani, followed by braces from Benji Michel and Daryl Dike to easily put the game away. The lasting memory from the game is Michel’s celebratory dance wearing a cowboy hat that came out of the stands.
Prior to that Orlando City romp, the last time the teams met was on Aug. 31, 2019 when the Lions got freight trained 3-0 at Avaya Stadium, giving the Quakes their first win in the series. San Jose’s offense came via a Chris Wondolowski brace and an early opening goal by Magnus Eriksson. Orlando looked flat and weary out of the gate.
The Lions were victorious in Exploria Stadium in the 2018 meeting on April 21, a 3-2 Orlando win. It was the first win in the series for either side after three straight draws. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead before Florian Jungwirth pulled two back in the game’s late stages.
The Lions led all of the first three matches in the second half only to see San Jose pull level, with two of those tying goals coming late. In the 2017 meeting, Carlos Rivas finally broke the scoreless tie and gave Orlando City the lead in the 81st minute, but Wondolowski spoiled the Lions’ night with an equalizer two minutes later as the teams drew at Avaya Stadium, 1-1.
In 2016, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned sour on a last-gasp equalizer by Shea Salinas. Seb Hines — now the Orlando Pride’s head coach — opened the scoring for Orlando, only to see Chad Barrett tie it up. Julio Baptista restored the lead in stoppage time, but Salinas ruined everything.
The two teams also drew in the first meeting, a 1-1 affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Lions down to 10 men after Brek Shea was sent off in the first half. Kaká and Wondolowski each scored from the penalty spot four minutes apart in that initial meeting.
Overview
The teams meet tonight to get their post-World Cup portion of the season started. Orlando City has been terrible on the road all season long, keeping only one MLS opponent under two goals all year away from home and allowing five goals twice (at New York City FC and Nashville) and six goals twice (at LAFC and in the team’s most recent match away at FC Cincinnati just before the break).
Orlando City is a putrid 1-6-1 on the road this season, and now the Lions must face the Western Conference co-leaders tonight before coming home to face Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC at home on Saturday. They’ll have to play at least tonight’s game without Martin Ojeda, who is out with a thigh injury sustained some time between his first-half goal a week ago in a friendly against FC Dallas and the time the availability report dropped on Tuesday.
But it isn’t all bad news for the Lions, who should have both Antoine Griezmann and Dike in the lineup. Griezmann was the club’s highly prized and widely publicized summer Designated Player signing, while Dike’s return to Orlando came together more recently, following his departure from West Bromwich Albion. They’ll help the club’s offense, but the attack hasn’t been the issue in 2026 — it’s been the historically porous defense, which is on pace to shatter the MLS record for goals conceded.
Meanwhile, San Jose is one of the first half of the season’s biggest surprises, as the Quakes have been outstanding in 2026. Scoring 34 goals while conceding just 15, San Jose is among the league leaders in goals scored (tied for third), goals conceded (third), and goal differential (+19, third).
The Earthquakes are 4-2-1 at home and are coming off a 3-1 road win at Portland in their last game prior to the World Cup break. San Jose boasts Golden Boot challenger Preston Judd, who leads the Quakes with 11 goals, adding two assists in his 15 appearances. Ousseni Bouda has chipped in five goals and three assists. Niko Tsakiris leads the team with seven assists to go along with his two goals, but he’s still recovering from a lower body injury and is not available tonight. However, the arrival of Timo Werner (four goals and five assists in just seven games) has truly elevated Bruce Arena’s Quakes, and he’ll need to be one of the main focal points for the Orlando defense.
To have any shot at taking something from this game, the Lions will need to play better road defense than they have all season. Orlando can score goals, but with Ojeda out, Griezmann will need to adapt quickly, and someone other than the team’s leading scorer will need to find the net.
The Lions will play without Ojeda (thigh), Joran Gerbet (knee), Nolan Miller (knee), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archage (international duty). In addition, Marco Pasalic may or may not have returned to the team after the World Cup. He was not in training Monday, although interim head coach Martin Perelman said he expected the Croatian back soon. The Earthquakes will be without Nonso Adimabua (lower body), former Lion Earl Edwards Jr. (lower body), DeJuan Jones (lower body), and Tsakiris (you guessed it, lower body…come on, San Jose).
Match Content
- Our most recent PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for tonight’s match.
Official Lineups:
Orlando City (4-4-2)
Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.
Defenders: Adrian Marin, David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Griffin Dorsey.
Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.
Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.
Bench: Javier Otero, Bernardo Rhein, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer
San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn.
Defenders: Jamar Ricketts, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benjamin Kikanovic.
Defensive Midfielders: Beau Lerouox, Ronaldo Vieira.
Attacking Midfielders: Timo Werner, Nick Fernandez, Ousseni Bouda.
Forwards: Preston Judd.
Bench: Jonathan Gonzalez, Dave Romney, Paul Marie, Jack Skahan, Jack Jasinski, Ian Harkes, Francesco Montali, Max Floriani, Darius Johnson.
Referees
REF: Elijio Arreguin.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4TH: Timothy Ford.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.
How to Watch
Match Time: 10:30 p.m.
Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.
TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.
Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).
Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.
Enjoy the match. Go City!
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