New York: The New York Cosmos will play Cuba in a “historic” football friendly on June 2 in Havana, the US team said on Monday, hoping to break down decades-old political barriers through sport.
The Cosmos — a second-tier club boasting former Real Madrid captain Raul — will make the first visit to Cuba by a US professional sports team since 1999, when Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles played an exhibition there.
The trip comes after US President Barack Obama’s announcement in December that Washington would seek to normalise relations with communist Cuba after five decades in the deep freeze.
“I for one have always believed in the power of sport to bring people together and to bring down barriers. We hope we can inspire others,” Cosmos chairman Seamus O’Brien said.
“We are therefore honoured to be the first professional team in sports to visit Cuba since President Obama’s historic opening of diplomatic relations.”
