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By Jonathan Lewis | May 18 2022
What are the differences and similarities between the English Premier League and Major League Soccer? Read this article to find out.
One of the popular debates among football fans is which league is the best in the world. While the English Premier League (EPL), La Liga, and Serie A can all give credible cries of being the best football league in the world, the same cannot be said of Major League Soccer (MLS), the best football. league in America.
This does not mean that the MLS is not a good league, but it is still many years behind the best football leagues in the world. With that said, there are many reasons to be optimistic. The league’s growth has been phenomenal in the past three years.
With officials building a similar system to the hugely successful English Premier League, expectations are that the MLS will be able to compete favorably with the major global leagues for the foreseeable future.
Today, there are many rules for comparing EPL and MLS, and this article will explore them. Before looking at the comparisons, one area that will always be the same between the two leagues is how to bet football odds. Regardless of the league, betting on football is the same. You only need to understand the basics and strategies of football betting, and you can excel at betting any league for that matter.
Brief history of the English Premier League
The English Premier League, legally known as the English Premier League Football Limited, is the top division of the English Football League.
The league has 20 teams and operates with promotion from the English Football League Championship and relegation to the same Championship League.
The English Football League was established on February 20, 1992 after a decision by the Football League First Division to leave. Since then, the English Premier League has evolved and become the most watched sports league in the world.
A Brief History of the Football League
The United States Football Association established Major League Soccer following its promise to FIFA after the United States was awarded the right to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
The Major League Soccer was founded in 1995 and kicked off the following year with ten teams. Two years later, two teams joined. Although the league had some financial difficulties at first, it rose to become one of the largest sports leagues in the United States. Today, MLS has 28 teams and is currently planning to expand to 30.
Similarities Between MLS and EPL
Here are notable similarities between the two leagues:
- Both follow the rules of IFAB
The IFAB rules, also known as the “Laws of the Game”, are adopted by both the MLS and the EPL. The rules include offside rules, free kicks, throw-in, match duration, penalty kicks, etc. Since both leagues follow IFAB rules, their way of playing is the same.
- Confederations Cup Qualifiers
In the English Premier League, the teams that finished seventh at the table qualify to play in the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League. Also, teams that win some domestic cups automatically qualify for the Europa League.
This is the same for the football league. Teams that win the league qualify for the North American continental competition and the CONCACAF Champions League. Like the English Premier League, the winners of some domestic cups also qualify for the continental cups.
- Match and Season Awards
Both MLS and EPL award prizes to outstanding players at the end of the campaign. Some of the awards are Season 11 Starter, Golden Boot, Goal of the Season, Young Player of the Year, and MLS-exclusive Landon Donovan MVP Award for the League’s Most Valuable Player.
Differences between MLS and EPL
Here are some of the differences between the leagues:
- Promotion and elimination of teams
In the English Football League, teams can be promoted and relegated. The top seventeen teams remained in the Premier League, while the last three teams were relegated to the championship. Also, three teams are promoted from the Championship to the English Premier League at the end of each season.
MLS operates as a fixed/closed league, and is one of the few football leagues to operate using this system. The league does not have a relegation rule – no team from the league can be relegated. Also, no team can be “promoted” to the league except to be added by the MLS. New teams have been added to the MLS to increase its national reach and secure TV broadcasting rights.
The MLS has two league tables, which are divided by the geographical location of the clubs. The two groups are called the Eastern and Western Conferences. Teams in the same group play against each other and sometimes with teams in other conferences.
In contrast, the Premier League has only one table with 20 teams facing each other on home and away in a season of 38 matches.
The team with the most points after playing all 19 teams at home and abroad wins the Premier League. However, this is not the case in MLS.
The MLS Cup decides the winner of the league. Although the teams that topped the table in two MLS tables qualify for the MLS semi-finals cup, the top seven teams from both conferences play against each other, and the winner is crowned the champion.
The English Premier League is the most lucrative football league in the world, so players get paid huge salaries. In fact, clubs relegated from the Premier League can spend more on salaries than the biggest club in the NBA.
Premier League teams are privately owned and generate money themselves through shirt sponsorships and stadium naming rights sales. In MLS, owners have involvement with the league and are allowed to run a team. The league is centrally operated, which is not the case with the English Premier League.
last thoughts
The English Premier League and the Major League Soccer are two successful leagues that operate distinctly. However, while there are many differences between them, many similarities are also shared between the two leagues.
The Premier League has been very thriving – arguably the best in the world, and MLS has made giant strides in recent years. The expectation is that Major League Soccer will vastly outperform in the coming years to compete with the best in the world.
Jonathan Lewis is a sports writer for MFF
