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New York Cosmos Invited To Las Vegas For Preseason Tournament Next February

The New York Cosmos may not be a MLS side just yet, but their club will play in Las Vegas next winter.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 03: Eric Cantona and Pele of New York Cosmos speak at a press conference on August 3, 2011 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Getty Images for the NY Cosmos)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 03: Eric Cantona and Pele of New York Cosmos speak at a press conference on August 3, 2011 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Getty Images for the NY Cosmos)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 03: Eric Cantona and Pele of New York Cosmos speak at a press conference on August 3, 2011 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Getty Images for the NY Cosmos)
Getty Images for the NY Cosmos

While the New York Cosmos may not be a Major League Soccer team yet, it isn’t stopping the club from participating in a preseason tournament next February in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to The Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Cosmos will participate in the inaugural “Vegas Winter Kick” on Feb. 25 at Sam Boyd Stadium. The Cosmos’ roster and opponent will be announced in October. This will mark the first time for the Cosmos to play in Las Vegas since the old NASL Cosmos played there back in 1977.

Daren Libonati, president of Las Vegas-based Justice Entertainment Group, announced the game Thursday, the same day the Cosmos played Manchester United in the Paul Scholes testimonial match.

Libonati also is working to bring one or more Major League Soccer teams to Las Vegas in February to train and possibly scrimmage as part of the two-week Winter Kick promotion. But the Feb. 25 match will be the main draw, and Libonati said he’s lining up a First Division club team from Mexico, South America or Europe to face the Cosmos.

While getting one or two MLS teams to participate in this two-week scrimmage seems fairly do-able, the hope of getting a team from Europe during the middle of February seems like a long-shot at best.

Libornati hopes to make this an annual thing for Las Vegas, which will likely have to include MLS teams to make it happen.

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