New York’s skyline. By Stephanie Massaro.
This July, the New York Cosmos announced they would participate in the 2013 North America Soccer League (NASL) season. Ironically, they are playing in a league with the same name as the one they used to play in. I’m sure many have made that remark already. After refusing to have the “Cosmos” name in the MLS in the 1990s, the new unidentified owners have decided that their main goal was to become a MLS franchise.
But there was some sort of delay, like many great projects. Things were looking rosy under Paul Kemsley, the former vice-chairman of Tottenham Hotspur. The club, which was composed of several youth teams, played Manchester United on August 5, 2011 for Paul Scholes testimonial match with under-23 players from all over the world. All of a sudden for the pursuit of “other interests and commitments,” Kemsley decides to resign as chairman and CEO. Eric Cantona managed the NY side at Old Trafford,
This only held the club temporally because they have made a commitment to play competitively on Long Island. They will play at the old Hofstra Stadium, where the original club played in the 1972 and 1973 seasons.
We could talk all day about the club’s rich history by talking about iconic players like Pélé and Giorgio Chinaglia and how exciting it is to have a second soccer team in New York.
Yet the idea of having a New York Derby hasn’t crossed many people’s minds. With a metro population of almost 23 million, you would think there would be enough money and fans to support two professional soccer teams. It only seems right to have at least two soccer teams in one of the most famous cities in the world.
As they are trying to get the historic Cosmos back into competitive play, why don’t they revive the MetroStars and give the Red Bull some more local competition?
The problem with the addition of the Cosmos to the NASL and not the MLS is that the Red Bulls won’t be able to play their cross-city rivals in league play. They could possibly play each other in the U.S Open Cup, but it comes down to the luck of the draw.
It really all comes down to money though. To play in the MLS, there are so many fees and regulations to go through. To become an expansion team, you need to pay fees, the league must come inspect the city and they must see that ownership are putting enough effort and time into it, in a nutshell. Obviously I am leaving out all the detail.
For this cross-city rivalry to happen, we need one of two things:
-Either Don Garber can loosen his expansion team regulations and lower the fee if there is a really promising situation, like this one which has the potential to develop into an iconic Derby, the league can make it happen. Apparently the MLS opportunity for the Cosmos had a $100 million price tag.
-Or the MLS and the NASL simply raise the salary cap, increase the amount of DP’s a team can have and create some sort of a primitive form of a promotion-relegation system so teams can move up and down from league to league. It doesn’t have to be three teams up and three teams down. They could just have the last placed team from the league above play the championship title winners team from the league just under in a home and away playoff. For example, if Toronto FC finishes last again next year and the Cosmos win the NASL Championship, they could play each other in a exciting home and away playoff series which could be decided on aggregate. With the addition of some more expensive but higher caliber players, the Cosmos could play their way to the MLS.
The second scenario I mentioned could still be a little “European” for North American soccer but as the sport grows in popularity I believe the MLS should spread its wings to allow pro soccer into more cities across the US and even Canada. There have been four expansion failures and the Cosmos deserve to not be part of this list. For now, we will just have to wait.
