The Cosmos will be the first professional sports team since 1999 to compete in Cuba. Transcript from the March 16 press conference at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square below (Spanish translation coming soon).

• Seamus O'Brien, Cosmos Chairman
• Giovanni Savarese, Cosmos Head Coach and Sporting Director
• Walter Benitez, Cuban National Football Team Manager
• Carlos Mendes, Cosmos Team Captain
• Charles Rangel, U.S. Congressman
• Gregory Meeks, U.S. Congressman

• Shep Messing, former Cosmos goalkeeper and Cosmos broadcaster
• Fernando Fiore, TV sportscaster and anchor

Shep Messing: Welcome to this which is an historic day for the New York Cosmos. My name is Shep Messing. Without a doubt I am the worst goalkeeper in the history of the United States who has had a great career because of the players whom I played with. I speak for Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto, all of my former teammates, when I say we are honored to continue the international tradition of the New York Cosmos.

It wasn't always like this. As our chairman Seamus O'Brien says, it's one step at a time. We used to play, when I came to the Cosmos, in front of 3,000, 4,000 loyal fans. Then Pelé came, Giorgio (Chinaglia), Franz, Carlos. We exploded like a shooting star, playing in front of 77,000 people every weekend. We traveled around the globe. We captured the imagination of first New York, the United States, and the world. We honor our tradition and our history. But that's just the bridge to build on. We are even more proud of our team today, and our team's future. Soccer, fútbol, futebol, it's the one sport that transcends racial, religious, socioeconomic and political boundaries. No soccer team in America illustrates this more than the New York Cosmos. This historic trip to Cuba is another example.

Fernando Fiore: I'm bringing my lucky tie, the green tie, because this is a great day and the Cosmos always bring me great memories. It's such an honor to be here today. I'm really happy because this is a very important day. This is one of the greatest moments, probably since the fall of the Berlin Wall. We are going to get the people of the United States and Cuba together through soccer. How can it get better than that? Like Shep said, that's the international word – soccer, fútbol, futebol. Anywhere we go we can always talk about soccer.

Today is a very special day also, and I am excited to be here, because 35 years ago, I landed from Argentina in New York. It was a cold March 35 years ago in 1980, and people were thinking that I would look for an apartment, and thank god my family was here. You might look for a job. I could do that, but I was looking for a soccer team. Back in 1980, I was living my passion for soccer. Imagine, a 19-year-old kid in Argentina going every Sunday to the games to see River Plate. Now I was here. I didn't speak English, I was in Hoboken, New Jersey. That wasn't as nice as it is now. Some of the old guys here remember. And I was looking for a soccer team.

Guess what team was the best in the world at that time? Say it with pride: Cosmos! That was the best team in the world and they were only 15 minutes from my home in New Jersey. So I was getting out of Hoboken, making sure nobody attacked me, and I would go to see the Cosmos. I would have the wonderful privilege to see those great players on the field in the beautiful Giants Stadium. Thirty-five years later, we are here, with coach Savarese, and the rest of the Cosmos country, enjoying my great passions – football, and getting people together.

You might remember me from December 9, when the Cosmos had another exciting day. We announced a little-known player called Raúl. That day it was cold and rainy but today it is not.

Before we get started I want to introduce some very special guests who have joined us here today. We want to give them a big New York Cosmos welcome. From our airline partner, Emirates, Mr. Matthias Schmid. From Street Soccer USA, the official charity partner of the New York Cosmos, Mr Lawrence Cann. From New York Hospital Queens – hopefully we don't have to go to the hospital but it's nice to have it – Mr. Anthony Vucinic. From the office of State Senator Dean Skelos, Mr. Jose Garcia Oliva. We would also like to give a very heartfelt thank you to the Marriott Marquis for helping to create this spectacular event today. 

We have two very, very special elected leaders with us today. First is a good friend to the Cosmos. The Dean of the New York Congressional Delegation, representing Harlem, northern Manhattan, including Randall's Island. Remember that the Cosmos played there. Shep, you had a great time at Randall's Island in the 70s. Let's welcome the honorable Charles B. Rangel.

Charles Rangel: Buenos días amigo! New York Cosmos, let's go. My colleague and friend Gregory Meeks, we are sports fans, yes, but we have spent the last 50 years trying to bring Cuba and America closer together. We have had this embargo for over 54 years. The reason for the embargo was to bring down the Communist government and Castro with it. We have had about ten presidents since then, and obviously we have not been successful. But notwithstanding what we have done, the love and affection that the Cuban people and the American people have for each other has withstood all of the political pressures that presidents here and Castro there have tried to do. As a matter of fact, by chance I was in Havana when President Obama announced the relaxation of the embargo. There are two things that all the Cubans said they loved about the United States. One was sports and the other was everything else!

This is historic, not just for you sports fans, but for those who are looking ahead to see what kind of world we are leaving for our children and grandchildren. I was blessed to have gone with President Obama to Trinidad for the organization of American states meeting the presidents of Mexico, Central America and South America. They loved it. But the one thing that brought the Americas together was Cuba. They said, with all of the greatness that Americans can be, north and south and central, recognize this little island for the dignity that they deserve.

This is bringing the people together, more than presidents, more than secretaries of states, because nothing stops sports fans from enjoying their sports, the way soccer is taking over now. So congratulations to all of you that made this possible. You may have done it for a variety of reasons, but now we find Cuban Americans in the United States, they don't want to punish people in Cuba, they just want to get along. What a great opportunity, that Meeks and I and the New York delegation and America feels, that at long last we can be a hemisphere that can not only help each other in terms of security, but the friendships and the cultural exchanges will make this hemisphere more secure from the dangers that we have on the other sides of the ocean. God bless you, and have much success.

Fernando Fiore: I have been in many, many press conferences and I have seen many, many speeches, but I was close to tears. Tears of happiness and joy.  I live in Miami and I have been to Cuba twice. Some of your words are really dear to my heart because I see so many people from Cuba and everything you said is just so true. I appreciate it. Now we welcome another loyal friend of the New York Cosmos, a member of the Congressional Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, from southeast Queens here in New York, the honorable Gregory Meeks.

Gregory Meeks: I am always happy to be here with the dean of the New York delegation, who really has said it all when you talk about how the resumption of diplomatic relations of Cuba means that we will have people-to-people relations with that island 90 miles off our shores. Right now, the only nations in the world that don't have freedom of travel and people-to-people contact, are the United States and Cuba. That doesn't make sense.

When you think about the world today being a much smaller place than it was just a few years ago, and bringing folks together, there is no better way to do that other than sport, and no better way other than international sport. Soccer, or fútbol, bringing people together. We saw how sport brought communist China and the U.S. together, with the visit by President Nixon. We saw in South Africa, the first thing Nelson Mandela did to bring his nation together was have a big game in the stadium. Sport bringing people together. And all you have to do is be around when the World Cup is going on. I don't care where you are in the world, when the World Cup is going on, people sit and engage. In fact, in many places, everything stops to watch sport.

In this day and age a lot of things are going on. The news is full with negotiations over Iran and Ukraine, but the common denominator is sport. The symbolic significance and importance of June 2, of not just any team, but the Cosmos. The New York Cosmos. It's significant because of what New York is. New York is an international city with people from all over the world who love this game called soccer, or fútbol. We're now joining with another big sporting country, Cuba, uniting, as my colleague said, the Western Hemisphere, making a difference for us all.

It is going to be a day of people coming together, with people not concerned about all of the other things, but making sure that there is now economic opportunity and vitality in both places. I say to Mr. O'Brien thank you, for sticking with it, staying focused, making sure that you got New York's championship team from 2013 aggressive and moving forward. Thank you for the vision and working collectively with the State Department to make sure we make this dream become reality.

I wish I was about 20 years younger so I could try out for the team. When you look at soccer players, they are the most conditioned in the world. They are up and down, and they represent the world. In fact, when I was growing up, there were two figures known throughout the world. One was Muhammad Ali. The other was Pelé. We are so happy that not only was he with Brazil but we saw him here in New York. We look forward to the next stars of the Cosmos and Cuba, making this place that we call earth a smaller place, and a much better place, and it's a better place because of sport.

Fernando Fiore: Both of you are so good, that I think they deserve to be a part of the Cosmos family. These two speeches were so powerful and heartfelt.

I'd like to now bring up the chairman of the New York Cosmos and the man that without a doubt, without this gentleman, none of us would be here today. Thank you Seamus for everything, and please, keep going.

Seamus O'Brien: I'm not going to try to follow either of those two wonderful and passionate remarks from the congressmen. Little did I think that merely three months after being with many of you across town introducing the legendary Raúl as our latest signing, that we would be back here so soon for such an historic announcement. When we started out on our reboot season, two years ago, we encouraged everybody to join with us on what I for one believe was always going to be one of the great sporting journeys. Back to the top of North American soccer, and a respected position on the global stage. From our signing of Emirates, the world's biggest corporate supporter of global soccer, as our founding partner, to the submission of our plans to build a new home for the team at Belmont, achieving our sixth Soccer Bowl championship in 2013, the first New York soccer derby of the modern age in the U.S. Open Cup in 2014, and then of course, in December, signing the Spanish legend Raúl. The journey has so far already exceeded most people's expectations.

However I for one will be the first to admit that our announcement today was certainly not in the original script. But then again, as we have always said, this is the New York Cosmos. Learn to dream, dream big, and expect the unexpected. For many around the world, New York is America's truly global city, at the heart of many people's dreams and aspirations. So too as a team, we have always had the tradition of leading the global ambitions for soccer in the United States. And in fact, following our recent matches in Hong Kong, and at the weekend in El Salvador, Cuba will be the 42nd country in the history of the team that we have visited and played matches. No other team, past or present, gets close.

In doing so, part of our vision for the team, over time, is not only to become a key player in the global soccer economy of tomorrow, but also to be a natural global ambassador for the United States, and in particular, for the great city and state of New York. As a team, throughout our history, we have often come to symbolize and represent the nation and the city. At the same time, we hope we can inspire others to the common cause and the values of the game. I for one have always believed in the power of sport to bring people together and to bring down barriers. I am very fortunate that throughout my career I have been able to witness many of these instances firsthand. We are therefore honored to be the first professional team in sports to visit Cuba since President Obama's historic opening of diplomatic relations. We hope the Cosmos can once again be a leader for New York, and New York business, and help create further opportunities in the future.

There are many people to thank, but in particular I would like to thank the NASL and CONCACAF for helping open up the discussions, and the State Department and the authorities in Cuba for supporting the initiatives. But particular thanks must go to Senor Benitez and his colleagues at the Cuban federation, for extending the hand of welcome and friendship to the Cosmos. We are extremely privileged and honored to accept this opportunity and hope that our match will be an important step forward in growing the popularity of the global game in Cuba and improving relations between the two nations, and two cities.

Fernando Fiore: It's a great honor to introduce our coaches and player, but also we have some former members of the Cosmos here today. Thank you very much for being here. All of this is not possible without the good roots put down by you guys. The Cosmos family stays together. It is getting bigger and better things, but the good guys from the old family are still here. And from the Cuban football association, coach Walter Benitez.

Coach Savarese, in the same way that Mr. Benitez is so eager to get to this game, I am sure that you are so intensely happy about this moment. Tell us please.

Giovanni Savarese: We are definitely excited for this opportunity. It's an historic moment. I'm a lucky man to be head coach of this organization. I'm a lucky man because I feel the love left by these players who participated in the past. To be able to travel to different countries like we did in preseason, Hong Kong and El Salvador and other places, and as soon as we get there we feel the love from when the Cosmos went there in the past. One thing that has been said many times today, that the New York Cosmos has done the best, is put people together. This is the best intention of this trip, to put, through soccer, people together. To enjoy a good, competitive match in Havana.

When the representatives from NASL and CONCACAF put us together, to be able to meet in January with the delegation from Cuba in Jamaica, I had the chance to come to the president of the Cuban national federation, I said we would like to play a match against you, some time before the Gold Cup. At the beginning, he said okay, let's talk about it. Where are you coming from? I said New York, and we are the New York Cosmos.

His eyes opened up, and he said we would love to play with the New York Cosmos. We would love to have you here. I have to thank you, coach, for being here, and for your delegation accepting us. For us it will be a great match to bring people together, to be competitive, and hopefully it can help as well for you to have a good Gold Cup, because at the end of the day you need to prepare your team for that. 

Fernando Fiore: That is a very good point. Cuba is getting ready to play the Gold Cup, so it will be great preparation. For the Cosmos it will be an historic moment, and also a very good match with the season already in full gear. It will be fantastic. I will be at the opening match of the season, against Fort Lauderdale Strikers, because it's close to my home, and I will be rooting for the Cosmos. My friends there say 'what are you doing?' but the first love is the first love. Now I would like to introduce someone who doesn't need any introduction, because he is our team captain. I have known him for many years and I am so glad he is here today, captain Carlos Mendes.

Carlos Mendes: I just want to briefly say, on behalf of all the players, we are thankful, to everybody, to coach Benitez and the ownership group, for setting this game up. We are really excited. It's going to be a great match, so on behalf of all the players who are working hard in preseason right now, we say thank you, and we are really looking forward to this historic match and this opportunity. We are all very proud. It's an honor to represent the Cosmos and we are all looking forward to it.

Q: How do you keep this match from not being about politics?

Giovanni Savarese: The most important thing is soccer. We are going there to compete. We have a bye week and what a way to fill it. We are going to produce a good quality team and we hope it'll be a good show of soccer, and will prepare the Cuban team for what they are going to encounter after.

Q: What made you pick the Cosmos?

Giovanni Savarese: The New York Cosmos historically have been leading the U.S. in soccer. This will be our 42nd country. We have to bring the New York Cosmos to a new place. That was the intention from the beginning, when we sat down and started talking to the delegation.

Q: How does it feel to have this scoop? How does it feel to be the first?

Seamus O'Brien: The club has a history of traveling overseas, opening doors. This happened naturally, very quickly. There was instant reciprocity from both sides, wanting to do the game. We just want to go ahead and win the game.

Carlos Mendes: We are excited, but we need to be focused, it will be a hard match against a competitive team. It will be a difficult task for us.

Q: Can you tell me some of the logistics, in terms of visas and transportation?

Seamus O'Brien: It's a work in progress. A lot of moving parts and government departments are working very hard.

Q: What is being done for fans and media to go there?

Seamus O'Brien: Issues are being worked on. We anticipate being able to bring with us a media contingent.

Q: The Chicago Sting visited Cuba in 1978, what will this mean for the NASL?

Giovanni Savarese: It's important because the Cosmos do it again, breaking barriers and bringing people together. It's still now a league that is growing. It's an exciting moment to be leading this opportunity. Everyone is excited.

Q: Chances of a return visit? Am I getting ahead of myself?

Seamus O'Brien: You are probably a little bit ahead of yourself. There are discussions but we'll see.

Q: Are you prepared for the new season?

Giovanni Savarese: We have had a very good preseason. We are very content with the additions and hope to be adding a few more. We feel we are prepared already for the first match on April 4. The players are excited. We are very confident in every player. Whoever is fresh and ready, will fly there and give a good competition to the Cuban national team.

Q: Will the game be on TV?

Seamus O'Brien: We have had a lot of phone calls from assorted networks. Not only will it be on ONE World Sports, it will be on another network in the nation.