USA · Tier 2 · closed league
USL Championship
In US-sports termsA second division that plays BELOW MLS but is walled off from it — like if Triple-A baseball could never be promoted to the majors, no matter how good it got. (That's now changing — see the note.)
What it is
The main US second division — a strong, growing league, but historically separated from MLS by a wall, not a ladder.
How you get in
Franchise membership, same as MLS. There has been no promotion from here into MLS.
What it feeds
Its clubs enter the US Open Cup, where a deep run is their only route onto the continental stage.
A great USL season traditionally earns nothing in MLS terms. (The USL has voted to launch its own promotion/relegation later this decade — a genuinely radical step for US soccer.)