 | |
| Founded | 1923; 102 years ago (1923) |
|---|---|
| First season | 1923–24 |
| Country | United States |
| Confederation | CONCACAF (North American Football Union) |
| Number of clubs | 112 |
| Promotion to | Eastern Premier Soccer League |
| Relegation to | Cosmopolitan Soccer League Division 2 |
| Domestic cup | U.S. Open Cup |
| International cup | CONCACAF Champions League |
| Current champions | Polonia SC (1st title) (2024-25) |
| Most championships | German-Hungarian SC (11 titles) |
| Website | cosmosoccerleague |
TheCosmopolitan Soccer League is a regionalsoccer league consisting of semi-pro and amateur teams based in and aroundNew York City. Established in 1923, it is one of the oldest soccer leagues in theUnited States and has contributed greatly to the nation's soccer history.
Currently, the league has four open divisions. The first two divisions require all clubs to also field reserve teams, a requirement that some leagues have abolished, but which the Cosmopolitan Soccer League believes makes its competition some of the strongest in United States soccer. The league also has an over-30 and an over-40 division. The league isUSASA-affiliated.
The Cosmopolitan Soccer League plays a traditional international schedule with competition beginning the second weekend of September and running through June, with a winter break from late December to early March. During the winter months, the league runs optional league cups.
The Cosmopolitan Soccer League was formed as theGerman American Soccer League in 1923. In 1927, the association changed its name to the German American Football Association. The league was highly successful in the 1920s and, in New York, was behind onlybaseball andbasketball in terms of popularity. The league struggled through theGreat Depression and by the 1940s the game was viewed by most Americans as an "ethnic" sport. Attendance and popularity declined sharply until the founding of theNorth American Soccer League in 1968. By the mid-1970s, league officials recognized that in order to maintain the league's viability in the same market as the star-studdedNew York Cosmos, it needed to appeal to a wider audience and in 1977, it voted to change its name to the Cosmopolitan Soccer League. Prior to the professionalizing of the modern American game, theUnited States national team often consisted of Cosmopolitan League players.
In 1923, five teams, S.C. New York, Wiener Sports Club, D.S.C. Brooklyn,Hoboken FC 1912 and Newark S.C., banded together to found the German American Soccer League. As the name suggests, the teams were largely composed of recent immigrants from Central Europe, primarily Germany. The next year, four more teams, Swiss F.C.,Elizabeth S.C.,S.C. Eintracht and Germania S.C., joined the league. The league renamed itself the German American Football Association in 1927. While the GASL began as a single division league, it added a junior division in 1933. That year, the league also held its first indoor tournament. In addition to its junior division, the GASL also added several lower divisions over the decades.
In 1943, all of the U.S. leagues suffered from significant player losses from the U.S. participation inWorld War II. In order to continue to play a competitive schedule, the GASL joined with the Eastern District Soccer League to run a joint season. Following the end of the war in 1945, the GASL found itself turning from a lack of quality players to an overabundance as Central European professionals left their war ravaged countries to move to the United States. The league experienced a second influx of talented players when Hungarians fled their country following theSoviet Union crushing the1956 Hungarian Revolution.
In 1964, the GASL joined with the professionalAmerican Soccer League in a short lived experiment. That year, the two leagues formed the Eastern Professional Soccer Conference which competed during the GASL/ASL off season. The league was a failure and did not complete its one season in existence.[1] While the merger with the ASL was less than successful, the GASL undertook a cooperative agreement with another league, this time theInternational Soccer League (ISL) in 1965. That season, the GASL All Star team entered the ISL as the New Yorker, going to the final where it lost to Polonia Bytom 5–1.[2] The string of league mergers continued in 1974 when theNational Soccer League of New York merged into the GASL.
In 1977, the GASL changed its name in response to a changing American soccer scene. While soccer had existed as an ethnic sport since the 1930s, the creation of theNorth American Soccer League in 1968 had brought the sport into the mainstream. Recognizing that maintaining its ethnic identity would hinder its acceptance by the wider U.S. sports culture, the GASL governing board voted to rename the league theCosmopolitan Soccer League. As part of this process, the league's teams were directed to change their names to ones with less ethnic connotations, although this requirement was dropped three years later.
Despite the regional and semi-professional nature of the league, it featured many of the top U.S. player in the 1950s and 1960s. Even into the early 1970s, GASL players appeared regularly with theU.S. national team. The high regard afforded to the league is reflected in that theNational Soccer Hall of Fame considers the GASL as one of a handful of leagues in which a player may become eligible for entry into the Hall of Fame.[3]
The GASL had named an All Star team beginning in 1930. In 1968, after the newly establishedNorth American Soccer League approached the GASL about placing a GASL team in the NASL, the league formed its All Star team, known as the Cosmos, into an exhibition team. The Cosmos did not enter the NASL until the 1971 season, but when it did, it was well stocked with former GASL players.
List of the participants in the current season:[1] The top former CSL teams play in the Metropolitan Conference in theEastern Premier Soccer League, which together withMaryland Major Soccer League, creates a regional based multi-leaguepromotion and relegation system between these leagues.[2][3] Some CSL teams also have reserve teams that play in a separate reserve division.
| Club | No. of titles | Championship Season |
|---|---|---|
| German-Hungarian SC | 11 | 1929–1930, 1932–1933, 1933–1934, 1939–1940, 1940–1941, 1950–1951, 1951–1952, 1953–1954, 1954–1955, 1955–1956, 1957–1958 |
| Greek American AA | 9 | 1963–1964, 1967–1968, 1968–1969, 1969–1970, 2004–2005, 2007–2008, 2008–2009, 2011–2012, 2016–2017 |
| New York Pancyprian-Freedoms | 8 | 1978–1979, 1979–1980, 1981–1982, 2002–2003, 2003–2004, 2009–2010, 2010–2011, 2018–2019 |
| Elizabeth S.C. | 7 | 1937–1938, 1946–1947, 1947–1948, 1948–1949, 1952–1953, 1970–1971*, 1972–1973 |
| New York Athletic Club | 1994–1995, 1995–1996, 1996–1997, 1998–1999, 1999–2000, 2000–2001, 2012–2013 | |
| Brooklyn Italians | 6 | 1976–1977, 1977–1978, 1980–1981, 1983–1984, 2005–2006, 2006–2007 |
| New York Hungaria | 1956–1957, 1958–1959, 1959–1960, 1960–1961, 1961–1962, 1992–1993 | |
| SC Eintracht | 5 | 1942–1943, 1943–1944, 1944–1945, 1945–1946, 1949–1950 |
| DFC Newark | 4 | 1927–1928, 1928–1929, 1931–1932, 1936–1937 |
| Lansdowne Yonkers FC | 2013–2014, 2014–2015, 2015–2016, 2017–2018 | |
| DSC Brooklyn | 3 | 1934–1935, 1935–1936, 1938–1939 |
| Inter-Giuliana SC | 1971–1972, 1973–1974, 1975–1976 | |
| New York Croatia SC | 1985–1986, 1988–1989, 1997–1998 | |
| New York Hota Bavarian SC | 1970–1971*, 1986–1987, 1987–1988 | |
| Blau-Weiss Gottschee SC | 2 | 1962–1963, 1990–1991 |
| New York Albanians | 1989–1990, 2001–2002 | |
| Hoboken FC 1912 | 1984–1985, 2021-2022 | |
| New York Ukrainians | 1965–1966, 1966–1967 | |
| SC Vienna | 1 | 1930–1931 |
| Blue Star SC | 1964–1965 | |
| Clarkstown SC | 1993–1994 | |
| German-American AC | 1941–1942 | |
| Hudson Dalmatians | 1974–1975 | |
| Sportfriends SC | 1991–1992 | |
| Vasco Da Gama SC | 1982–1983 | |
| Shamrock SC | 2020-2021 | |
| Central Park Rangers FC Reds | 2022-2023 | |
| Richmond County FC | 2023-2024 | |
| Polonia SC | 2024-2025 |
| Season | League Champion | League Cup Champions | Indoor Tournament Champions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1927–1928 | DFC Newark | No Tournaments Held | No Tournaments Held |
| 1928–1929 | DFC Newark | ||
| 1929–1930 | German-Hungarian SC | ||
| 1930–1931 | 1st SC Vienna | ||
| 1931–1932 | DFC Newark | ||
| 1932–1933 | German-Hungarian SC | ||
| 1933–1934 | German-Hungarian SC | ||
| 1934–1935 | DSC Brooklyn | ||
| 1935–1936 | DSC Brooklyn | ||
| 1936–1937 | DFC Newark | ||
| 1937–1938 | Elizabeth S.C. | ||
| 1938–1939 | DSC Brooklyn | ||
| 1939–1940 | German-Hungarian SC | ||
| 1940–1941 | German-Hungarian SC | ||
| 1941–1942 | German-American AC | ||
| 1942–1943 | S.C. Eintracht | ||
| 1943–1944 | S.C. Eintracht | ||
| 1944–1945 | S.C. Eintracht | ||
| 1945–1946 | S.C. Eintracht | ||
| 1946–1947 | Elizabeth S.C. | ||
| 1947–1948 | Elizabeth S.C. | ||
| 1948–1949 | Elizabeth S.C. | ||
| 1949–1950 | S.C. Eintracht | ||
| 1950–1951 | German-Hungarian SC | ||
| 1951–1952 | German-Hungarian SC | ||
| 1952–1953 | Elizabeth S.C. | ||
| 1953–1954 | German-Hungarian SC | ||
| 1954–1955 | German-Hungarian SC | ||
| 1955–1956 | German-Hungarian SC | ||
| 1956–1957 | New York Hungaria | ||
| 1957–1958 | German-Hungarian SC | ||
| 1958–1959 | New York Hungaria | ||
| 1959–1960 | New York Hungaria | ||
| 1960–1961 | New York Hungaria | ||
| 1961–1962 | New York Hungaria | New York Hungaria | |
| 1962–1963 | Blau-Weiss Gottschee SC | Blau-Weiss Gottschee | |
| 1963–1964 | Greek American AA | New York Greek-American AC | |
| 1964–1965 | Blue Star SC | New York Hota Bavarian SC | |
| 1965–1966 | New York Ukrainians | New York Hota Bavarian SC | |
| 1966–1967 | New York Ukrainians | German-Hungarian SC | |
| 1967–1968 | Greek American AA | New York Hota Bavarian SC | |
| 1968–1969 | Greek American AA | Giuliana SC | |
| 1969–1970 | Greek American AA | German-Hungarian SC | |
| 1970–1971 | Elizabeth S.C. &New York Hota Bavarian SC (shared) | German-Hungarian SC | |
| 1971–1972 | Inter-Giuliana SC | Elizabeth S.C. | |
| 1972–1973 | Elizabeth S.C. | German-Hungarian SC | |
| 1973–1974 | Inter-Giuliana SC | Inter-Giuliana SC | |
| 1974–1975 | Hudson Dalmatians | Inter-Giuliana SC | |
| 1975–1976 | Inter-Giuliana SC | Dalmatinac SC | |
| 1976–1977 | Brooklyn Italians | Brooklyn Italians | |
| 1977–1978 | Brooklyn Italians | Inter-Giuliana SC | |
| 1978–1979 | New York Pancyprian-Freedoms | New York Atlas | Turkish SC |
| 1979–1980 | New York Pancyprian-Freedoms | Kearny-Americans | New York Pancyprian-Freedoms |
| 1980–1981 | Brooklyn Italians | Kearny-Americans | Blue Star SC |
| 1981–1982 | New York Pancyprian-Freedoms | Elizabeth S.C. | New York Atlas |
| 1982–1983 | Vasco Da Gama SC | Elizabeth S.C. | New York Atlas |
| 1983–1984 | Brooklyn Italians | New York Ukrainians | Brooklyn Italians |
| 1984–1985 | Hoboken FC 1912 | Banatul SC | Brooklyn Italians |
| 1985–1986 | New York Croatia SC | New York Croatia SC | Blau-Weiss Gottschee SC |
| 1986–1987 | New York Hota Bavarian SC | Hoboken FC 1912 | Adriatic SC |
| 1987–1988 | New York Hota Bavarian SC | Shamrock SC | Vllaznimi SC |
| 1988–1989 | New York Croatia SC | New York Hota/Bavarian SC | Madlost SC |
| 1989–1990 | New York Albanians | Hoboken FC 1912 | Elizabeth S.C. |
| 1990–1991 | Blau-Weiss Gottschee SC | SC Gjoa | SC Gjoa |
| 1991–1992 | Sportfriends SC | Clarkstown SC | SC Gjoa |
| 1992–1993 | New York Hungaria | Istria SC | Adriatic SC |
| 1993–1994 | Clarkstown SC | No Tournament Held | FC Porto |
| 1994–1995 | New York Athletic Club S.C. | Polonia SC | Clarkstown SC |
| 1995–1996 | New York Athletic Club S.C. | St. Barnabas | New York Athletic Club S.C. |
| 1996–1997 | New York Athletic Club S.C. | SC Gjoa | New York Greek-American Atlas |
| 1997–1998 | New York Croatia SC | No Tournament Held | New York Greek-American Atlas |
| 1998–1999 | New York Athletic Club S.C. | New York Shamrock SC | Istria SC |
| 1999–2000 | New York Athletic Club S.C. | New York Shamrock SC | New York Hungaria |
| 2000–2001 | New York Athletic Club S.C. | New York Pancyprian-Freedoms | New York Albanians |
| 2001–2002 | New York Albanians | New York Albanians | Koha SC |
| 2002–2003 | New York Pancyprian-Freedoms | No Tournaments Held | ZPA SC |
| 2003–2004 | New York Pancyprian-Freedoms | New York Bozniyak | |
| 2004–2005 | Greek American AA | New York Greek-American Atlas | |
| 2005–2006 | Brooklyn Italians | No Tournaments Held | |
| 2006–2007 | Brooklyn Italians | ||
| 2007–2008 | Greek American AA | Stal Mielec New York | |
| 2008–2009 | Greek American AA | New York Croatia | |
| 2009–2010 | New York Pancyprian-Freedoms | New York Croatia | |
| 2010–2011 | New York Pancyprian-Freedoms | Polonia SC | New York Athletic Club S.C. |
| 2011–2012 | Greek American AA | Central Park Rangers FC | Manhattan Celtic |
| 2012–2013 | New York Athletic Club S.C. | Central Park Rangers FC | Vistula Garfield |
| 2013–2014 | Lansdowne Bhoys | CD Iberia | No Tournament Held |
| 2014–2015 | Lansdowne Bhoys | CD Iberia | New York Croatia |
| 2015–2016 | Lansdowne Bhoys | Zum Schneider FC 03 | Sporting Astoria SC |
| 2016–2017 | Greek American AA | New York Athletic Club S.C. | Cedar Stars Academy |
| 2017–2018 | Lansdowne Bhoys | New York Shamrock SC | Cedar Stars Academy |
| 2018–2019 | New York Pancyprian-Freedoms | Zum Schneider FC 03 | Doxa SC |
| 2019–2020 | Season and tournaments not completed due toCOVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2020–2021 | Shamrock SC | Borgetto FC | No Tournaments Held |
| 2021–2022 | Hoboken FC 1912 | Borgetto FC | |
| 2022–2023 | Central Park Rangers FC Reds | Richmond County FC | |
| 2023–2024 | Richmond County FC | NY International F.C. | |
| 2024-2025 | Polonia SC | ||
Source[11]
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