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The 2026 World cup, soon to be hosted in the States, along  with Canada and Mexico, how competitive can the host country be based on its own league based on the comparison with the most popular league, the EPL? 

The Major League Soccer (MLS), hosted since 1996 had its unique system to be operated. The MLS runs on an unique structure of Franchise Model, similar to NBA, NFL, and MLB, where the league is divided into two conferences, the Eastern and the Western having 15 teams each and does not have a promotion/relegation system. It also does not have a league winner decided    based on the regular season, but has a postseason well known as the playoffs. 

The system has caused significant issues on the growth of the league, as due to the league not having a promotion/relegation system, the weaker teams that stay on the lower positions that can not make the playoffs, does tanking. Tanking is when a team deliberately shows poor performance to lose the game, which can allow them to have a higher draft pick in the MLS draft. The MLS draft is a draft system where teams can select a prospect that has been playing for the NCAA/NAIA/NJCAA divisions or have been a part of the MLS next academies. Through tanking, the teams have a higher chance of receiving higher picks in the draft which can allow them to have hot prospects that can significantly change their game. This makes the league very uncompetitive, as higher tier clubs can stay on that high level until they lose, then they can tank for the future. 

The English Premier League (EPL) has a promotion/relegation system for competitiveness between clubs, and has a single league that includes both parts of England and Wales. There are 20 clubs in the top division while 24 in 2nd, 3rd and 4th division. It does not have a postseason for the playoffs in which the first place of the regular season is the champion of the league. But it has cup competitions such as FA and Carabao cup. 

However in the English Premier League, the league has a promotion/relegation system, where the top two teams of 2nd, 3rd and 4th division get direct promotion while 3-6th teams play a play off where the winner gets promoted. However, three teams from each division that placed last became relegated, directly affecting their financial situations and their competitiveness as players leave the club for their own future. This allows the league to have competitiveness compared to the MLS.

The players of the EPL are the top class players from all around the world, including both hot prospects such as Kobbie Mainoo, Dean Hujisen, Ethan Nwaneri, and so on. These players have the potential to become the best in the world, already showing class in ages that range from 16 to 20. Due to the league’s competitiveness, the league also has star players such as Erling Haaland, Mohammed Salah, and so on. The league shows a high class level compared to the MLS where all the hot prospects leave the league for these big European leagues. For example, Cavan Sullivan, a 14 year old prospect that plays for the Philadelphia Unions has signed with Manchester City, and would join them when he reaches 18 years old. The MLS buys old star players that are past their primes, such as Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets which helps with spreading the influence of their league, but does not help that much with competitiveness leading for these prospects like Sullivan to leave the league. 

However, the MLS has significant potential to reach as a high tier league, as the league is working on their youth academy systems, in which the players with potential can play for the teams in MLS. Although it is possible for them to leave to European countries, such instances like Randon Donovan, a star player that stayed in the MLS although he received offers from Bayern Munich. Also, more high classed players might join the MLS from the influence of star players that passed their prime. Although their level is not what they used to be, the name value of the players such as Messi is enough to bring other young players from around the world. The league has a high chance of prosperity from the 2026 World Cup. The 2026 World Cup can inspire lots of young players to play soccer in their country. 

The MLS has the potential to become a huge industry that can compete with top tier leagues, through their improvements in their academy system and could possibly benefit significantly from hosting a World Cup in 2026.