It looks like the Cosmos will be returning in 2026 — and playing in New Jersey.
North Jersey Pro Soccer, the Paterson-based club founded earlier this year, is reportedly going to use the Cosmos name when the organization launches a men’s team that will compete in USL League One starting with the 2026 season. The legendary Cosmos name has been used by multiple teams over the course of half a century in and around the New York City area, and remains one of the most iconic identities in American soccer.
This report comes from a combination of sources, including those close to USL who are not permitted to speak publicly on the record.
This will mark the third time a team has used the Cosmos name for professional soccer. The first, and most famous, was the original North American Soccer League team that operated between 1970 and 1985. That team is historically known as the one to put club soccer on the map in America, winning five NASL titles and making international headlines when it signed Brazilian forward Pelé in 1975.
The second and most recent iteration of the team launched in 2010, eventually joining the second version of the NASL, this time a second-division league, for the 2013 season. This Cosmos won three Soccer Bowl titles and made headlines of its own by beating both the New York Red Bulls and New York City FC on multiple occasions in the US Open Cup. Following the collapse of the NASL in 2018, the team played half a season in the National Independent Soccer Association in 2020 before going on an indefinite hiatus.
North Jersey Pro Soccer has not replied to requests for comment for this story.
Oliver Strand
Here's what we know
Recently, North Jersey Pro Soccer announced it will hold an event on July 10 at the Charles J. Muth Museum at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, NJ. When asked by Hudson River Blue, USL sources indicated that the Cosmos brand was going to be used by the new team. The sources couldn't say definitely if the July 10th event was going to reveal the Cosmos name, but said it was a strong possibility.
One USL source also indicated that the team not playing in New York City would mean an alteration of the brand. The source would not go into specifics, but it could mean dropping "New York" from the club name.
This isn’t new for the club. The New York Cosmos simply became "The Cosmos" in 1977 following a move from Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, to Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. In 1979, they once again became the "New York Cosmos."
Historic Hinchliffe Stadium
This iteration of the Cosmos would call Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, NJ, home. The 10,000-capacity venue opened in 1932, and once served as the home of the New York Black Yankees and the New York Black Cubans of baseball’s Negro League, making it one of only two surviving Negro League venues in the United States.
The stadium also previously played host to soccer, serving as the home venue for the short-lived New Jersey Eagles in the late 1980s.
Hinchliffe is situated on a bluff mere feet from Paterson’s dramatic Great Falls above the Passaic River, and beyond baseball, the stadium long served as a cultural hub for the New Jersey town.
It’s a designated National Historic Landmark, but over time, the stadium fell into disrepair. Recently, the stadium received a multi-million-dollar renovation and reopened as the home of independent baseball’s New Jersey Jackals in 2023. Soccer has a place in the reborn Hinchliffe Stadium, with 4,000 fans turning out on a cold January afternoon to watch Ecuadorian giants Barcelona SC play a friendly against Brooklyn-based amateur side Osner’s FC.
Michael Battista
Michael Battista
Cosmos complications
While the venue seems clear, multiple USL sources didn't want to speak on the record when asked about the team. That does not come as much of a surprise considering the turbulent recent history between the Cosmos, US Soccer, and the United Soccer League.
Cosmos 2.0 was launched in 2010 by Seamus O'Brien and Sela Sport. The lofty goals of that club included a privately funded soccer stadium in Belmont Park and eventually joining Major League Soccer. Neither of those things happened.
In late 2016, it looked dire for the club with reports of furloughed staff and losses in the range of $30 million. Enter Italian-American businessman Rocco Commisso, who purchased a majority interest in the club and kept it – and the NASL itself – alive for the 2017 season.
Legends Never Die. Legends Live Forever. @blkmsk.com
— NYCosmosSC (@nycosmossc.bsky.social) 2025-06-30T22:31:44.658Z
However, US Soccer announced that the NASL would not be sanctioned as a Division II professional men's outdoor league following 2017.
The Cosmos, via NASL, continued a long-running antitrust battle against US Soccer and MLS. Originally filed in 2017, the lawsuit alleged conspiratorial collusion between the US Soccer Federation and Major League Soccer to hobble NASL by withholding Division I status and favoring MLS.
The case was cleared for trial in June 2024. In February 2025, a jury handed down a verdict in favor of US Soccer and MLS. The NASL has since filed a notice of appeal.
At the same time, the Cosmos focused on survival. The team shifted resources to their reserve side, New York Cosmos B, and competed in the National Premier Soccer League through 2019. After a Covid-era return to professional soccer in 2020 through NISA, the club paused operations in January 2021 amid what some perceive as neglect by Commisso (who purchased Italian Serie A side ACF Fiorentina in 2019), and has remained dormant since.
It is unclear if Commisso will be involved with this new iteration of the Cosmos.
The Stover connection?
One man leading North Jersey Pro Soccer who knows a lot about the New York Cosmos is Erik Stover, the USL team’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. He was announced with the team’s initial announcement earlier this year.
A veteran soccer executive, Stover joined the 2.0 Cosmos in 2012 as its chief operating officer prior to the team officially taking the field. Under him, the team saw multiple successes such as the signing of former Spanish national team star Raúl, a kit sponsorship deal with Emirates, various television contacts, and the signing of former Major League Soccer forward Giovanni Savarese as the team’s first-ever head coach.
Stover left the Cosmos in late 2018 to become the CEO of Fox Soccer Academy. Reportedly, he remained with the team as a consultant, but to what extent remains unclear.
Since then, Stover’s roles have included running his own management and consulting firm.
In August 2021, Stover also joined the Hinchliffe Stadium renovation project, acting as a lead consultant on the redevelopment of the historic stadium.
Prior to joining the Cosmos, Stover made his bones as a senior executive of Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands and later Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. In 2008, he joined the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer and was instrumental in several major accomplishments for the team. As managing director, he was credited with signing French superstar Thierry Henry to the team in 2010. This came after overseeing the completion of Red Bull Arena, which opened in 2010 to stellar reviews.
For this, Stover was named Doug Hamilton Executive of the Year in 2010.
At this time, sources are not confident that Stover always intended to turn North Jersey Soccer Pro into the Cosmos. According to one source, a group interested in bringing back the Cosmos was looking for viable real estate, and the Paterson venue “just lined up.” If that’s the case, it’s a fortunate coincidence that Stover, formerly the COO of the Cosmos, just happened to be involved in the renovation of Hinchliffe Stadium since 2021.
In March 2025, Stover spoke about his time with the Cosmos on an episode of the Sports Consiglieres podcast. “Just looking at it from an outsider’s point of view, the [Open Cup games against New York City and NY Red Bulls] was a really special moment in time,” Stover said. “Red Bull, NYCFC, and the Cosmos were all playing and competing. Really, it was unique. It gave soccer fans something to argue about and debate. We don’t have enough of that in our soccer world in the United States. I kinda enjoyed people hating the Cosmos. We need more of that, we need more passion… Hopefully, we get a chance to bring that back.”
Recent trademark moves
Another sign that something is happening with the Cosmos name comes from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
At the time of writing, there are seven active trademarks for "New York Cosmos" owned by Cosmos Soccer Club LLC. The address listed for the owners of these lines up with the current address of Mediacom Communications Corporation, aka Rocco Commisso.
However, on June 12, 2025, three of these trademarks were listed for trademark cancellation. These include trademarks for both "Cosmos" and "New York Cosmos," as well as a "Service Mark" for New York Cosmos, as well.
All three trademarks had been regularly updated since being originally filed in 2008. That includes the change of ownership to Mediacom in early 2017, with almost yearly updates to each filing up until June 12.
None of the current Cosmos logos that are trademarked by Mediacom have been marked for cancellation, possibly signifying a new logo is being created for the team ahead of the 2026 USL League One season.
Monumental moment for New Jersey soccer
If North Jersey Pro Soccer joins the USL in 2026 as the Cosmos, it will mark the sixth former NASL 2.0 team to make the jump. In 2017, the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Ottawa Fury FC defected to what was then known as the United Soccer League. One year later, after the NASL was de-sanctioned, Indy Eleven and North Carolina FC made the switch as well. Miami FC (or The Miami FC, to friends), following stops in other leagues, eventually joined the USL Championship in 2020, ironically by acquiring the franchise rights from Ottawa Fury.
The Cosmos will also mark the fourth former NISA team to join the professional USL ranks, joining Detroit City FC, Oakland Roots SC, and Miami FC.
Should North Jersey Pro Soccer indeed join USL League One as the Cosmos, it will be a big moment for the sport in the Tri-State Area, whether they have "New York" in the name or not. Should one of the most famous names in North American soccer rise again, it will be on the western side of the Hudson River, playing in an organization that will soon have promotion and relegation, and that has ambitions to take on MLS in the years to come.
