After all of the fanfare, VIP backing and posturing, the New York Cosmos will indeed take to the field as a soccer team yet again.
The Cosmos announced Thursday that they will play in NASL starting in the 2013 season, joining the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and Tampa Bay Rowdies as original NASL franchises playing in the modern edition of the league. The club did not announce where their home games will be played, and according to an NASL release, that information, along with technical staff and players, will be announced "in the near future."
The Cosmos brand was reborn in 2010, with the likes of Pele, Eric Cantona and Cobi Jones taking roles in an effort to bring the legendary club back to prominence. The club currently has an Under-23 side and an academy set-up and also fielded a star-studded team to play at Old Trafford in the Paul Scholes testimonial match last summer. The Cosmos were pushing hard to become the newest MLS expansion franchise before ownership turmoil derailed that quest, but the organization still has its sights set on one day reaching the top tier of U.S. Soccer.
"Our ultimate goal is to play at the very highest level, and we feel today's announcement is the first step in that direction," Cosmos chairman Seamus O'Brien wrote in a team statement.
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