HISTORY OF THE NEW YORK COSMOS
The Cosmos’ 2026 return represents the start of another exciting chapter in a tale that now spans more than a half century. From the highs of eight league titles and the signing of some of the greatest players in the sport’s history, to the lows of two lengthy hiatuses, no club better embodies American soccer’s limitless potential and fitful progress. There’s no soccer story like it. Here are the highlights of a one-of-a-kind journey, now set to continue…
1971
Feb. 4 — The Cosmos are born. Having acquired the North American Soccer League (NASL) franchise vacated after the New York Generals ceased operations, an investor group known as Gotham Soccer Club (later a Warner Communications subsidiary called Global Soccer Inc.) unveils the New York Cosmos identity.
April 17 — The first competitive match in club history is a 2-1 win at the St. Louis Stars. Bermuda’s Randy Horton and Ghana’s Wilberforce Mfum score the goals. The Cosmos would play home matches at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, Hofstra Stadium on Long Island and Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City during their inaugural NASL season.
1972
Aug. 26 — The Cosmos win their first league championship in the club’s second season. Randy Horton and Josef Jelínek score (the latter in the 86th minute) in a 2-1 triumph over the St. Louis Stars before a crowd of 6,102 at Hofstra in Hempstead, Long Island.
1975
June 10 — Brazilian legend Pelé signs a three-year contract with the Cosmos at the 21 Club in Manhattan. The three-time World Cup winner, then 35, had spent his entire club career at Santos.
June 15 – Five days later, the scene shifts to Randalls Island. Pelé scores on his Cosmos debut in a Father’s Day friendly against the Dallas Tornado in front of a record 21,278 fans at Downing Stadium. Another 10 million were watching on CBS, shattering the record for a soccer game on U.S. TV.
1976
May 17 — Italian striker Giorgio Chinaglia signs following seven seasons at Lazio. He became one of the most consequential figures in Cosmos history, winning four NASL titles and a host of individual honors, including league and Soccer Bowl MVP.
1977
May 25 — Der Kaiser, Franz Beckenbauer, signs after a glittering 14 seasons at Bayern Munich, where he won three European Cups and two Ballons d’Or. Beckenbauer would become an NASL MVP and three-time champion.
June 19 — The Cosmos Country phenomenon launches when a record crowd of 62,394 gathers at Giants Stadium to see Pelé score a hat trick against the archrival Tampa Bay Rowdies. For 70 consecutive matches in 1977-81, the Cosmos drew crowds of 30,000+ to the Meadowlands.
Aug. 28 — The Cosmos win their second NASL title, 2-1, over the Seattle Sounders in Soccer Bowl ‘77. Steve Hunt and Giorgio Chinaglia score the goals at Portland’s Civic Stadium, providing a storybook finish for Pelé in his final competitive match.
Oct. 1 — Pelé’s Cosmos farewell is a friendly against the only other club he ever played for, Santos. Before a global television audience and 75,646 at Giants Stadium, El Rey scores his 64th goal in 106 games for the Cosmos during the first half. He plays the second half for Santos.
1978
Aug. 27 — The Cosmos claim a third NASL title, and second straight, with a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rowdies in Soccer Bowl ’78. English winger Dennis Tueart nets a brace and Giorgio Chinaglia notches the eventual match-winner before 74,901 at Giants Stadium.
1980
Sept. 21 — The Cosmos win their fourth NASL championship at RFK Stadium in Washington DC with a 3-0 defeat of the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers in Soccer Bowl ‘80. A crowd of more than 50,000 see goals from Giorgio Chinaglia (two) and Julio César Romero, plus a shoutout by goalkeeper Hubert Birkenmeier.
1982
Sept. 18 — A fifth NASL crown is won at Soccer Bowl ’82 in San Diego, where Giorgio Chinaglia scores in the 31st minute to lift the Cosmos over the Seattle Sounders, 1-0. Hubert Birkenmeier posts another championship clean sheet.
1984
June 29 — Giorgio Chinaglia, who retired the previous year, acquires a majority interest in the club from Warner Communications.
Aug. 31 – Along with three other NASL clubs, the Cosmos announce they will field a team in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) in the 1984-85 season.
Sept. 12 — A last-minute goal in a 1-0 loss at the Chicago Sting eliminates the Cosmos from playoff contention in what would be the NASL’s final season before folding.
1985
Feb. 21 — Following an MISL loss at the Minnesota Strikers, the Cosmos announce the mid-season suspension of indoor team operations.
June 16 — A rain-soaked brawl at Giants Stadium brings a premature end to a not-too-friendly 2-1 exhibition defeat to Lazio (the Italian club also under Giorgio Chinaglia’s control).
June 22 — The Cosmos announce suspension of all team operations. Later in 1985, former Managing Director Peppe Pinton acquires the club from Giorgio Chinaglia and Warner Communications. Over the ensuing hiatus, Pinton protected the Cosmos’ material and intellectual property.
1991
July 21 — A Cosmos reunion is held at Giants Stadium. A doubleheader features an Italia ’82 lineup against Cosmos Green, and the Brazilian Masters against Cosmos Blue. The event draws a crowd of 31,871 on a hot and hazy Sunday, helping to rekindle some Meadowlands magic.
2006
July 7 — Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos, a documentary film directed by Paul Crowder and John Dower, premieres in New York City and renews interest in the club and its legacy.
2011
April 15 — The sale of the Cosmos by Peppe Pinton to a consortium led by English businessman Paul Kemsley is announced, along with plans to acquire a league franchise and resume full-time team operations.
Aug. 5 — The Cosmos field a team once more, with a mix of contemporary legends (including Patrick Vieira, Gary Neville, Fabio Cannavaro and Brad Friedel) featuring in a 6-0 loss to Manchester United in the Paul Scholes testimonial match at Old Trafford.
Nov. 3 — A consortium led by sports marketing executive Seamus O’Brien acquires a majority interest in the club.
2012
July 12 — Club Chairman Seamus O’Brien announces that the Cosmos will compete in the revived NASL beginning in 2013.
2013
Aug. 3 — The Cosmos’ Reboot Era begins with a dramatic 2-1 win over old rival Ft. Lauderdale Strikers at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium. Peri Marošević and Alessandro Noselli score the goals.
Nov. 9 — In their first season since the mid 1980s, the Cosmos are champions again thanks to a 1-0 win at the Atlanta Silverbacks in Soccer Bowl 2013. Spanish midfielder Marcos Senna scored the winner in the 50th minute.
2014
Oct. 30 — Spanish legend Raúl González joins the Cosmos. Raúl set records at Real Madrid and won the UEFA Champions League on three occasions before spending time at Schalke 04 and Al Sadd.
2015
June 2 — The Cosmos become the first American sports team to visit Cuba since President Barack Obama’s administration normalized diplomatic relations. Pelé joins the traveling party and the Cosmos enjoy a 4-1 win over the Cuban national team at Havana’s Estadio Pedro Marrero.
Aug. 8 — The club’s reserve team, Cosmos B, clinch the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) title with a 3-2 extra-time win at Chattanooga FC before 18,227 fans.
Nov. 15 — The Cosmos win their seventh NASL title. Argentine forward Gastón Cellerino’s hat trick makes the difference in a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Fury in the final. Raúl and Marcos Senna sign off as champions in front of 10,166 fans at Shuart Stadium, the same venue where the club won its first championship in 1972.
2016
Nov. 13 — The Cosmos win their eighth and most recent league championship—and a third under head coach Giovanni Savarese—on penalty kicks over Indy Eleven. The final at Belson Stadium on the campus of St. John’s University ends 0-0, and the Cosmos win the shootout, 4-2. Despite the back-to-back titles, however, both the club and the NASL are in crisis and on the verge of collapse.
2017
Jan. 10 — Mediacom founder Rocco Commisso saves the Cosmos from folding by buying a majority interest from Seamus O’Brien. The club plans to call Coney Island’s MCU Park home for the upcoming NASL season.
Sept. 1 — The U.S. Soccer Federation’s board of directors revokes the NASL’s second-division sanction. Eighteen days later, the NASL files an antitrust suit in the Eastern District of New York. The Cosmos finish the 2017 season as NASL runner-up.
2018
Feb. 27 — With the NASL’s 2018 season cancelled, the Cosmos suspend first-team operations and announce that Cosmos B will continue to compete in the NPSL. Cosmos B reaches the national quarterfinals.
2019
May 23 — The Cosmos host Germany’s FC St. Pauli in a friendly (a 2-1 win) at Columbia University’s Commisso Soccer Stadium. The Cosmos’ first home international match since 1985—and the 191st overall for a club once labeled “America’s International Team”—is a demonstration of shared values between the teams and their respective fan bases.
Aug. 3 — Cosmos B enters the NPSL final on a 17-game unbeaten streak under coach and former Cosmos captain Carlos Mendes. But a second title slips away with a 3-1 loss to Miami FC before 5,285 fans at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, NY. It’s Cosmos B’s final match.
Dec. 13 — The Cosmos announce that the first team will return to compete in the National Independent Soccer Association, provisionally sanctioned by U.S. Soccer as a third-division league, beginning in fall 2020.
2020
Oct. 10 — The last match of the NISA Independent Cup, a 2-2 home draw with FC Baltimore Christos, brings an end to the closed-door, ghost-game pandemic season.
2021
Jan. 21 — While commemorating the club’s golden anniversary, the Cosmos announce another suspension of team operations.
2025
Feb. 3 — Litigation filed in September 2017 finally reaches a jury in Brooklyn, NY. Jurors decide that a “relevant market” for first division and second division soccer was not proven, leading to the dismissal of the NASL’s antitrust claims against the U.S. Soccer Federation and Major League Soccer. The NASL appeals the verdict.
Feb. 13 — The United Soccer League (USL), which operates the second-tier USL Championship and third-tier USL League One, announce plans to launch a sanctioned first-division league in 2027-28.
March 19 — The USL announces that a supermajority of owners have voted to implement a promotion and relegation system.
July 10 — The Cosmos announce that a group led by Baye Adofo-Wilson has acquired a majority interest in the club from Rocco Commisso and will resume team operations. The men’s team will compete in USL League One beginning in spring 2026 and the club’s first women’s team will kick off at a later date. Both will play at the club’s new home, Paterson’s historic Hinchliffe Stadium, located in the heart of Cosmos Country.