The Cosmos: The club of Pele and Beckenbauer has reformed once again

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The Cosmos are back. For the third time, America's most famous soccer club will take to the field.

From 2026 onwards, the Cosmos - dropping "New York" from their name - will feature in the United Soccer League One, the third tier of the domestic pyramid, playing out of the historic Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey.

It's in the Garden State, at the Giants Stadium, that the Cosmos enjoyed their glory days and introduced football to mainstream America. Pele, with Franz Beckenbauer and Carlos Alberto in his slipstream, provided the star power and drama. The perception of soccer as an outward, foreign eccentricity was replaced by one of sex and rock and roll.

The club - like the rest of the North American Soccer League (NASL) - flourished briefly before collapsing.

In 2010, Paul Kemsley, the former vice-president of Tottenham Hotspur, revived the club. The Cosmos returned to Hofstra, where they had trained in the 1970s. Pele was wheeled out as an ambassador, Eric Cantona enjoyed a short-lived spell as director and even Real Madrid legend Raul was signed.

But the relaunch never quite captured the public imagination. They won three titles in a revived version of the NASL but remained on the fringes of the New York City sports scene. In 2018, the second iteration of the NASL folded and the Cosmos became dormant again.

So, can the third edition of the Cosmos become sustainable and weave themselves into the fabric of American soccer once and for all?

North Jersey Pro Soccer, headed up by real estate developer Baye Adofo-Wilson, acquired the primary rights to the name, logo and other intellectual property from Rocco Commisso, the Fiorentina owner who will retain a minority stake in the club. In his role as CEO, Erik Stover will provide continuity; as COO of the Cosmos 2.0, he not only signed Raul but also landed a high-profile kit deal with Emirates.

This time, Stover is flanked by Giuseppe Rossi, a New Jersey-born former Italy international, who will serve as head of football.

At the launch, Rossi said: "The real magic will be the players we develop right here in North Jersey.

"We're going to show what it means to be a Cosmo. The values, the style, the community - that's what draws people in.'"

The blueprint is simple: be a community-driven club with a focus on talent development. In 2027, the club plans to establish a women's team in the USL Super League, one of two top-flight leagues in the American women's game.

Don't expect the Cosmos to take the American scene by storm. A decade ago, the club missed the opportunity to join Major League Soccer, but the new owners seem more grounded. The legacy of the old Cosmos is undisputed, but the new iteration wants to immerse itself in North Jersey to show that it is more than simply a nostalgic crest for collectors of yesteryear's brand.

Words by Samindra Kunti.