David Beckham Has Key Link to New York Cosmos MLS Bid

Each of the following statements is tantalizingly true:

-- A group calling itself New York Cosmos LLC and featuring Pelé as a frontman has acquired the rights to the name and logo of the famous North American Soccer League club and has partnered with local amateur and youth organizations. Its website features a photo of the famous Brazilian World Cup winner flanked by U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati and New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.

-- The group announced that its "ultimate vision is unquestionably to bring the New York Cosmos back to the greatest city in the world, to be a part of Major League Soccer and to compete for the championship."

-- The principals behind the Cosmos are English. Chairman Paul Kemsley is an investment banker and former director at Tottenham who engineered the purchase of the Cosmos name and logo from G. Peppe Pinton, the former general manager of the NASL incarnation. CEO Carl Johnson runs a marketing and advertising company with offices in London and on Broadway. Cosmos director of soccer Terry Byrne held back-room positions with both Chelsea and the England national team in the 1990s.

-- Byrne is one of David Beckham's best friends and played a key role in Beckham's move to the Galaxy and several key decisions once the famous midfielder arrived, such as the hiring of Ruud Gullit as coach and the inheritance of the captaincy from Landon Donovan. In his book "The Beckham Experiment," Grant Wahl described Byrne as Beckham's "personal manager" and "the unidentified figure who was almost always in Beckham's immediate orbit." Beckham apparently arranged for Byrne to work for the Galaxy as a "paid consultant." Byrne's actual high-level pro soccer experience has been limited to roles as a physical therapist and equipment manager.



-- Beckham's contract with the Galaxy, which will pay him $6.5 million this season, expires at the end of 2011. The deal includes a provision allowing Beckham to be an investor/owner in an MLS franchise once he's done playing. "I still want to be involved. I want to be an ambassador of the league," he said last year. "There's a deal in place where I can purchase an MLS team or start a franchise. It's something I am definitely interested in, or I wouldn't have it in my contract."

-- The Montreal Impact are scheduled to become MLS's 19th team in 2012. MLS commissioner Don Garber, who just signed a new four-year contract, has made it no secret that he wants the 20th club to be in New York City. "We are very focused on trying to have that 20th team in New York," he said last week. "We have got a lot of work to do to achieve that. We may or may not achieve that, but that is our goal and our main focus for the 20th team."

-- That doesn't leave much time to arrange the financing, get a stadium built and lay the groundwork for such a massive project. Unless, of course, the money already is in place, along with the type of star power that might entice the mayor to help cut through any red tape that would hold up construction in an area like Queens or Brooklyn. New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon had expressed interest in building a soccer stadium beside Citi Field before the recession hit.

-- David Beckham's oldest son is named Brooklyn.

OK, that last one is irrelevant, but you can see where this is going. Beckham has not been linked officially to the Cosmos, and FanHouse's request for information from the club wasn't answered Tuesday. But with MLS giving no commitment to adding a 21st team in the near future, with Beckham's playing career likely ending at about the same time the Cosmos would join the league and with his manager and confidante Byrne already on board in a position of significance, one could connect these dots with a Jabulani.

Pelé has the type of star power that could resonate with potential American soccer fans

Could Beckham and Pelé be joining forces to resurrect the most famous soccer club in American history, in the most powerful and visible city in the world? That would be the soccer equivalent of crossing the streams. And it would boost MLS in an unprecedented way both at home and abroad.

MLS and the Cosmos already have had discussions. Asked for comment, league senior VP-marketing and communications Dan Courtemanche told FanHouse that MLS "remains focused on securing a 20th team for Major League Soccer in New York. We have met with the group that owns the rights to the Cosmos name and look forward to learning more about their plans."

Right now, those plans are pretty low key (aside from the Pelé photo-op over the weekend). The organization, or club, or whatever it is, has acquired the Copa NYC, an amateur soccer tournament featuring players divided up into teams by native nationality, and has joined forces with Queens youth club Blau Weiss Gotschee. Elite players from under-12 through under-18 will play free-of-charge under the "Cosmos Academy" banner, with the U-16 and U-18 sides participating in the elite U.S. Soccer Development Academy.

"As part of what will be an extensive corporate social responsibility strategy, the New York Cosmos will also work closely with the city to enable New York's schoolchildren to play soccer more often, and more easily, by providing equipment and facilities," the Cosmos said.

All of that is groundwork.

Executive director Joe Fraga told The New York Times that the Cosmos' "plan has several phases. But if you fast-forward, it's our aspiration to play at the highest level in this country and that's MLS. And we are serious. We want to make it relevant again. We want kids to know what the Cosmos were and are, to bring the soccer dream back to the city."

It is remarkable that the brand continues to have such resonance, a quarter century after the NASL shut down. But the Cosmos, who won five championships with the likes of Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto, Giorgio Chinaglia and others, are transcendent. They represented New York City in its disco inferno prime and have been the subject of longing for many Gotham-area fans dissatisfied with the MetroStars/Red Bulls losing ways and/or Jersey location.

"The Cosmos name is still a brand name, still after so many years," Chinaglia told The New York Times. "People still recognize it in Europe. I think this is a good idea, if they can achieve what they say they want to achieve. There's no question these are serious people. Of course there are going to be expectations, but if they get another team in New York, it would be good. It would be a rivalry and people will be interested."

They most definitely will be. Even more so if Beckham was involved. Granted, Byrne's meddling with the Galaxy was a disaster, and the club wasn't turned around until Bruce Arena was brought on board to run the show. But this time, the former taxi driver could just be keeping the boardroom seat warm until Beckham retires (he'll be 37 at the start of the 2013 season) and brings to bear his star power and bank account. Soccer in this country would never be the same.