If there is anything on earth that ties all 192 countries together, it's probably soccer aka football. That's what makes the FIFA World Cup the most watched and talked about event on the planet every four years.
If soccer is the global sport, and New York City is the global city, it's high time someone combined the two.
Enter the Cosmos Copa, an amateur level soccer tournament that emulates the World Cup, but played entirely by New Yorkers, whether they be immigrants representing their country of birth, or their parents', grandparents', etc.
Imagine New York's thriving and proud Irish community, taking to the pitch at a park on Saturday against Senegalese New Yorkers. That's what the Cosmos Copa is all about - simultaneously celebrating the New York area's rich cultural diversity while also bringing the best players together for some serious athletic competition.
Named after the legendary NASL club, the New York Cosmos, Cosmos Copa is the organization’s grassroots tournament and an important part of the club’s efforts to return to the highest levels of American soccer while still keeping grounded in the local community.
What started as 16 teams/countries in its inaugural year back in 2009 has grown to 36. In just a few days, Randalls Island will host the qualifying round robin tournament for 22 teams (including for the first time, Israel!). Eight teams, including the United States, Haiti,and Greece, have prequalified and are preparing for the Group stage beginning in three weeks.
The Israeli team will open the tournament on Sunday, June 23rd with a double header against Italy at 12:40PM and then take on the Netherlands at 4PM later that day. Both matches will be at Randalls Island, with the first at Field 75 and the second at Field 74.
Said Israel's manager (and player) Itamar Alpert : "There is nothing more exciting to me than a representation of our small country among world football lions in a prestigious and competitive tournament like this one."
The team's coach, Bilal Barakat is from Lebanon and said while addressing the team "It's not easy for me to stand in front of you today as representing the State of Israel, but the message that we represent in the tournament is Peace, the Team of Peace."
Said Alpert in an interview with CosmosCopa.com, "Co-existing is not just a word."
Avnet Kleiner, one of the team's defenders said: "Our goals are modest at this point, as for now we are willing to qualified through the group stage to the eighth-finals, after that the sky is the limit. In the testing matches we had showed improvement from game to game when we played against a great team such as England, Greece, Germany, Uruguay and Gambia. Our goal is to combine the pleasure of attending the tournament and success to represent the country in the most honorable and professional way, however i would be lying if I said that we won't be disappointed if we did step the next round. "
Check out the trailer below, and stay tuned for more info on Israel at the Cosmos Copa!