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Cosmopolitan Soccer League
Founded	1923; 102 years ago
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(s)	U.S. Open Cup
International cup(s)	CONCACAF Champions League
Current champions	Richmond County FC; (1st title) ; (2023-24)
Most championships	German-Hungarian SC ; (11 titles)
Website	cosmosoccerleague.com

The Cosmopolitan Soccer League is a regional soccer league consisting of semi-pro and amateur teams based in and around New York City. Established in 1923, it is one of the oldest soccer leagues in the United 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 is USASA-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 an indoor tournament due to New York's cold climate.

History

The Cosmopolitan Soccer League was formed as the German 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 only baseball and basketball in terms of popularity. The league struggled through the Great 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 the North 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-studded New 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, the United 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 in World 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 the Soviet Union crushing the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.

In 1964, the GASL joined with the professional American 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 the International 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 the National 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 the North 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 the Cosmopolitan 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 the U.S. national team. The high regard afforded to the league is reflected in that the National 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]

New York Cosmos

The GASL had named an All Star team beginning in 1930. In 1968, after the newly established North 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.

2020–2021 team list

List of the participants in the current season:^[1] The top former CSL teams play in the Eastern Premier Soccer League, which together with Maryland Major Soccer League, created a regional based multi-league promotion and relegation system between these leagues.^[2]^[3]

Eastern Premier Soccer League

Doxa SC
FC Westchester
KidSuper Samba AC
Lansdowne Yonkers FC
NY Athletic Club
NY Greek Americans
NY Pancyprian-Freedoms
Sporting Astoria SC (now known as New Amsterdam FC II-SASC)^[4]
Zum Schneider FC 03

Division 1

Division 2

Division 3

Division 4

Over 40 Division

Inactive Clubs

Past League Champions


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	7	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	6	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	4	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

Both Elizabeth S.C. and New York Hota/Bavarian SC hold the title of champion for the 1970–1971 season

Year by year

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		No Tournaments Held
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 to COVID-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.

Source^[16]

CSL in national competitions

National Challenge Cup

1951 German-Hungarian SC
1955 S.C. Eintracht
1962 NY Hungaria
1965 NY Ukrainian SC
1967 Greek American AA
1968 Greek American AA
1969 Greek American AA
1970 Elizabeth S.C.
1971 NY Hota
1972 Elizabeth S.C.
1974 Greek American AA

National Amateur Cup

1929 DFC Newark (runner up)
1936 DSC Brooklyn
1944 S.C. Eintracht
1949 Elizabeth S.C.
1951 German-Hungarian SC
2014 New York Greek Americans
2017 Lansdowne Bhoys FC

McGuire Cup (U-19 National Cup)

1936 Hatikvoh FC
1937 Hatikvoh FC
1952 Killsman SC
1953 Newark SC
1955 Blau-Weiss Gottschee SC
1959 NY Ukrainian SC

References

Notes

^ "Cosmopolitan Soccer League Teams". www.cosmosoccerleague.com. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
^ Mwamba, Jay (September 2, 2020). "Lansdowne go semi-pro, join EPSL". Irish Echo. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
^ Lewis, Michael. "REGIONALLY SPEAKING: CSL, Maryland Majors join Eastern Premier Soccer League". www.frontrowsoccer.com. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
^ "Sporting Astoria official website". www.sportingsc.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
^ "Hoboken FC 1912 official website". www.hobokenfc.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
^ "Manhattan Celtic official website". www.manhattanceltic.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
^ "Manhattan Kickers official website". www.mk-fc.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
^ "Real Ole FC (2018/2019)". www.cosmosoccerleague.com. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
^ "Stal Mielec New York official website". stalmielecnewyork.futbolowo.pl. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
^ "Hoboken FC 1912 official website". www.centralparkrangers.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
^ "Flushing FC official website". www.flushingfc.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
^ "Brooklyn City FC official website". www.brooklyncityfc.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
^ "SV Yellow Hook official website". www.svyellowhook.com. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
^ "Brooklyn City FC official website". www.brooklyncityfc.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
^ "Brooklyn Bound SC official website". www.brooklynboundsc.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
^ "League Champions". Cosmopolitan Soccer League. Retrieved March 5, 2024.