Moments ago, during the Copa NYC Finals at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, New York, soccer legend and former New York Cosmos star Pele made a rare appearance to the thousands of players and fans in attendance, and announced to the world that The New York Cosmos are coming back. Having reigned as America’s greatest soccer club (formerly part of the North American Soccer League), the world-renowned New York Cosmos now return with a greater goal in mind – to inspire, develop and field world-class players. The New York Cosmos is committed to helping improve the future of soccer in this country, with significant investment in grassroots and youth soccer and providing elite coaching philosophies and training opportunities.

The New York Cosmos have already agreed to a unique partnership with Queens-based youth club BW Gottschee, who has 60 years of experience, passion and success at a local and national level. The Cosmos Academy – as they will be known – will field teams from U12-U18 and participate in the US Soccer Development Academy. Furthermore, The New York Cosmos have acquired the Copa NYC tournament, and beyond running it every year in New York, they will be looking to expand it both domestically and internationally in order to engage more local communities to participate in the ‘global game’ at a grassroots level.

As part of what will be an extensive corporate social responsibility strategy, The New York Cosmos will also work closely with the City to enable New York’s schoolchildren to play soccer more often, and more easily, by providing equipment and facilities. However, the club’s ultimate vision is unquestionably to bring The New York Cosmos back to the greatest city in the world, to be a part of Major League Soccer and to compete for the championship. After his final career match in 1977 at the old Giants Stadium, in a speech given to more than 75,000 fans, Pele urged his audience to pay attention to the youth of the world. Today, 33 years later, Pele reinforces that message and will provide an opportunity for their dreams to be fulfilled.

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