NEW YORK: The cosy relationship between the United States Soccer Federation and Major League Soccer could be upset if New York Cosmos owner Rocco Commisso gets his way writes KEIR RADNEDGE.

Commisso has offered US Soccer a $500m investment in exchange for significant changes in the organisation of the domestic game which could also see the revolutionary introduction of promotion and relegation.

SportBusiness International has reported that Commisso made the proposal in a letter to new USSF president Carlos Cordeiro in which he also offered to buy out the national team commercial rights currently held by Soccer United Marketing, the marketing arm of MLS.

Reportedly Commisso was asked for further details and has responded with a request for a face to face meeting.

Commisso, worth an estimated $4.3bn, has suggested that an initial round of funding could raise at least $500m to which he would contribute 50pc as lead investor.

The letter quoted Commisso as complaining that the USSF and MLS had become “so deeply intertwined, financially and otherwise, that the federation has lost its independence and fallen short in performing its duty to serve the best interests of American soccer as a whole”.

The North American Soccer League, in which Cosmos competes, has been refused requested status as a second division for the 2018 and has launched legal action against by USSF and MLS.

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