The Pursuit of Victory: The 2011 Cosmos Copa NYC

The 2011 Cosmos Copa NYC

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

by Joe Curtis, writing from Charlotte, NC

"The World's Sport, In the World's City". The Cosmos Copa was founded in 2009 with the support of the New York Cosmos and features 30 amateur national teams from the New York City area. Essentially, the teams are comprised of community "All-Stars" that represent their country and culture in what is described as the World Cup of NYC. The tournament is open to anyone 18 and over. Because the teams involved are national teams every player must be 1st or 2nd generation descendants to the heritage of the team they are playing for. Each player must also provide adequate evidence. A "NYC" team is permanent on a yearly basis. In order to be one of these "NYC" teams, a team must have qualified for a past Cosmos Copa. Just like real National teams, if a player has dual citizenship he may choose between which team he would like to play for.

The Cosmos Copa has grown in popularity since 2009. The reason for its popularity is its World Cup style set up. New Yorkers loved the idea of cheering on their country and culture. What makes the Copa even more special is the fact that the players come from their communities. Put those two together and you get a growth from 16 teams in 2009, to 22 in 2010, to 30 teams in 2011. This year over 2,000 players tried out for a place on a Cosmos Copa Team. Over 650 of those players were chosen.

Last weekend was Qualifying Weekend for the 2011 Cosmos Copa. The top eight qualifying teams would join the 2010 Cosmos Copa Elite Eight, which received automatic bids. Those Elite Eight are: NYC Poland (2010 Champions), NYC Jamaica, NYC Ireland, NYC Haiti, NYC Greece, NYC Mexico, NYC England, and NYC Ecuador. The first day of qualifying is known as "One Shot Saturday". Twenty teams will have one shot, single elimination, to advance to the second day of qualifying. Match-ups were randomly chosen at the official Tournament Draw in April, with two teams, NYC Trinidad & Tobago and NYC Italy, receiving an automatic bye to the second day of qualifying, known as Playoff Sunday. After day one the following teams advanced to Playoff Sunday: NYC USA, Croatia, Kosovo, Ivory Coast, El Salvador, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Portugal, France, and Colombia.

photo via Cosmos Copa Facebook

Playoff Sunday groups:

Group 1	Group 2	Group 3	Group 4
Trinidad & Tobago	Ivory Coast	Senegal	Italy
Kosovo	Croatia	France	Colombia
USA	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	El Salvador	Portugal

After two days of qualifying the eight teams that earned a Cosmos Copa birth were: NYC Trinidad & Tobago, Kosovo, Croatia, Ivory Coast, Senegal, El Salvador, NYC Colombia, and NYC Italy.

The 2011 Cosmos Copa tournament draw will take place on June 23rd. The group stage of the tournament is set to begin on July 9th at 8am.