Cuba approves exhibition soccer match with New York Cosmos

By Nelson Acosta HAVANA (Reuters) - The New York Cosmos have won approval to play the Cuban national soccer team in what would be the first professional sports team visit to the Caribbean island nation since December's rapprochement between Cuba and the United States. The match in Havana on June 2 would be among the most important appearances by a U.S. team since Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles played an exhibition in Havana in 1999. It's almost certain to happen," an official with the Football Association of Cuba told Reuters on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity due to association policy. The Cosmos, of the second-tier North American Soccer League, declined to confirm the match, saying only in a statement that "we have had meaningful dialogue with the Cuban Federation, and will provide further information in due course." Among the details to be worked out is improving field conditions at Havana's 28,000-seat Pedro Marrero Stadium, Cuba's main soccer venue, the Cuban official said.

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