MLS is the only league in the United States that functions, along with the afforded legal protection, as a single-entity structure. MLS owners are currently protected as a closed league with fixed membership and one of the few leagues in the world that does not use promotion and relegation.

Can teams be relegated from the MLS?

Major League Soccer was founded in 1993 as part of the United States' successful bid to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup. ... The league has a fixed membership like most sports leagues in the United States and Canada, which makes it one of the world's few soccer leagues that does not use a promotion and relegation process.

Will MLS ever use relegation?

By 2023, every MLS team with a lower-division team will play in the league, which will also include an uncapped number independent teams outside of the league's current ownership structure.