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

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, I 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.”

Part II: The Benefits of Promotion/Relegation

Despite making USL a direct-competitor for MLS through its future Division I league, Heaps does not believe the two cannot coexist successfully. He said the ethos of the teams in MLS versus those in USL are different, and therefore attractive to different demographics.

“We’re community teams,” Heaps said. “So there’s a way for USL to find other pockets. For me, it’s still based on that we’re a community-driven team. We’re built for Birmingham, we’re built by Birmingham, we’re owner by Birmingham owners. … You play for the name on the front of the jersey.”

In contrast, he said the MLS is a more international-oriented league, with a big focus on signing big names from foreign countries. As a result, he sees USL becoming “the American league,” focused more on developing American players who might not necessarily get a shot on rosters filled with international stars.

That focus on player development, notably with the goal of helping the national team in the long-run, is another major component to Heaps’ support for the system. With a true promotion/relegation model in place, he anticipates increased focus on youth development and scouting, which will only benefit the American player pool.

“I do think that promotion/relegation is something that this country at some point is going to need to adopt in the professional ranks if we want true player development,” Heaps said. “When you think about player development at the youth, youth levels, if there’s a true professional pathway to go from Division IV or III or II all the way up to Division I, you’re going to see more investment in developing younger players and investment in that process. As we all know, if you’re a Division III team or Division II team, you can’t spend $50 million to go get Messi,” he added. “You’re going to have to spend three or four hundred thousand or close to a million in investing in the youth.

“If we’re talking about how U.S. Soccer can really start to get more talented players younger, sooner, promotion/relegation is that pathway,” he continued. “I look at that as a global trend that has allowed smaller countries with less physical athletes to really be developed sooner because they’re getting the grassroots programs incentivized to go find younger players.

“I’m a big believer that that will directly impact player development at a younger age, and start to try and find more meaningful games for the 13, 14, 15 year olds,” Heaps added. “And the hope is for the U.S. to have those players continue to develop through the pro ranks to eventually be national-team-level players. And that to me is something that hopefully the USL with get U.S. Soccer behind.”

Another advantage of promotion/relegation is the increased stakes throughout the season. While teams currently only fight for playoff spots, thus removing any real meaning to their season as soon as that goal is mathematically impossible, the value of each result will last significantly longer into the season with the new model.

Heaps said the league doesn’t want to move away from traditional American ideas like the end-of-season playoffs, but he does believe promotion/relegation is a perfect addition to this system. A former player and manager in MLS, he recalled European players, most notably David Beckham, now president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF, coming over and loving the playoff system because it gave them a second chance at success even after a mediocre season. However, while seeding for the postseason often gives the top half of the table something to play for until the final day, those below them quickly find themselves playing dead rubbers.

Whether relegation adopts a playoff model as well remains to be seen. If it does, several avenues exist. It could be a direct competition between the league’s bottom teams, or, such as some European leagues — most notably the Bundesliga, Germany’s top division — the playoffs could be between the bottom teams of the higher division and best teams in the division below.

In any case, Heaps thinks U.S. soccer fans, most of whom prefer international leagues to the local product, will support the proposal.

“For me, that’s the American way of doing it,” Heaps said. “If you have the relegation story, but you also have a champion story and a playoff system in the top league.”

Part III: What it means for Birmingham Legion FC

So what does this all mean for Birmingham Legion? Heaps said there’s still a lot to be discussed before he can properly answer that question.

“That’s probably phase two,” Heaps said. “I think this is still a league-driven next couple of steps on where we’re going to go. You don’t want to get out in front of it and not know exactly what you’re getting in front of.”

Heaps said the next few steps for the league will revolve around solving its PLS differences with USSF, and then making decisions on what they want their Division I to look like. No decision has been made as of yet as to how many teams will start in that division, and whether any of those will be current USL Championship teams.

The goal for the Legion, regardless of the initial decision, is to end up in that Division I as soon as possible in order to be part of and compete with the best USL teams in the nation.

“I think right now we’re really assessing what that looks like for the Legion, whether it’s a Division I or Division II, where do we want to be in two years, three years, from a starting point,” Heaps said. “But that’s also for us to look at how much are we going to invest in, like I mentioned, development of younger players.”

Heaps said he hopes to see U.S. soccer change its PLS requirements to forgo to 15,000-seater stadium rule, potentially in favor of alternatives such as requirements for more robust youth academies. He said such an idea could see the club change their business model and develop a stronger reach throughout the state to find and develop Alabama’s best players at a younger age.

“U.S. soccer has got to be thinking that way,” Heaps said. “They’ve got to be thinking, how do we get more investors in professional soccer to align with what we’re doing? Because it’s a great sport to be in, but right now you just feel like people are investing in their own market and not really putting it into the greater good of the game, which to me is ultimately the national team and the federation. They’ve got to set that pathway for the investment into the game.”

On the stadium front, Birmingham Legion would have no problem complying with a 15,000-minimum, given that Protective Stadium can accommodate up to 47,100 fans. However, with an average turnout close to the 5,000 spectators mark, a lot of discussion surrounds the idea of a potential Legion-owned soccer-specific stadium.

While the USL Division I and promotion/relegation model do not require any change for the Three Sparks, Heaps said other factors do play into the consideration for a potential venue change in the future.

“I want to continue to grow our fanbase to then make the right decision on what that next step for stadium is for the Legion,” Heaps said. “So yes, [the USL’s announcement] impacts, but more impactful is what our market really needs. What would be the best way for Birmingham Legion and the fans of Birmingham to have the best fan experience possible? What size stadium is that, for that intimate, fan-engaged environment that allows for the best revenue-growth for the club, to be able to have more spend on players, longer-term sustainability, all those things that you’ve got to kind of match when you’re talking about a business.”

On the field, Heaps said it’s still too soon to see any changes made with 2028 and beyond in mind, as too much remains to be determined. Once the promotion/relegation system is better defined and teams know where they stand, however, he expects that knowledge to impact the team building moving forward, probably starting next winter.

The goal will be to have the best team possible already in place once all the changes are implemented, to hit the ground running in the USL’s new landscape.

“You don’t want to go too young, too soon, or too old, too late,” Heaps said. “You want to balance where your roster is.”

“Our focus is really on 2025 right now,” he added. “We’ve had a very inconsistent performance to start the season this year, so my goal right now is to get us back on level ground, get us back to the team that we need to be.

“And then, big picture, what does that look like? I think next year we’ll know where U.S. Soccer is on this, we’ll know where USL is a little bit further along and what they’re looking for from a Division I and a II and a III. So that would put us in a much better line of sight on what our business plan has to look like, and that what our soccer strategy has to look like.”