Jomo Cosmos is a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club based in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

that plays in the ABC Motsepe League. The club is owned and coached by South African football legend

Jomo Sono Ephraim Matsilele Sono OIS (born Madoda Walletjies Mkulwana, 17 July 1955), better known as Jomo Sono, is a South African football club owner, coach and former professional footballer. He has been variously nicknamed the "Black Prince of Sout ...

. At the end of the 2021–22 National First Division season, the club was relegated to the third tier of football in South Africa for the first time.

History

The club was founded on 29 January 1983, upon the remnants of the previously well-known and successful club Highlands Park, which Sono opted to buy when he ended his playing career in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The club was named Dion Cosmos in its initial 1983 season, with the first part of the name representing the previous sponsor of ''Highlands Park'' and the second part being the fingerprint of Jomo Sono, who decided to name his newly bought club after his former NASL club, the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...

. Since 1984, the name of the club has been Jomo Cosmos. Sono's policy for development has always been to recognise and build upon raw talent. Sono's team accentuated and developed a strong youth policy and through the years has gained a reputation for discovering and developing some of the finest talent to have played in the league, for the South Africa national team and abroad. Under Sono's ownership, the club went on to achieve several successes: winning the South African Premier Division title in 1987, the Bob Save Super Bowl in 1990, the Coca-Cola Cup in 2002 and 2005, and the SAA Supa 8 in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. In 2008, Jomo Cosmos were relegated from top-flight football for the first time since 1993. After one season in the

National First Division The South African Championship, officially known as the Motsepe Foundation Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest league of South African football after the South African Premiership. Both the South African Championship and ...

, they returned to the PSL for the 2009–10 season, having won the Inland Stream and the promotion play-off against Carara Kicks. They were immediately relegated again, leading several to question Sono's future as the club's manager. Sono stayed, and led the club to the 2010–11 National First Division title and promotion. They were yet again relegated in their first season back, finishing in last place. They would stay in the second tier for three seasons, before winning promotion through the 2014-15 PSL play-off tournament. Cosmos were relegated again in their first season back, after losing 3–1 to Maritzburg United on the final day, ending the season in last place.

Honours

* Telkom Knockout: 3 ::2002, 2003, 2005 * Top 8: 1 ::

Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's Premier Soccer League, premier club association football, soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of gi ...

: 1 ::1990 * NSL: 1 ::1987 *

: 2 :: 2008–09, 2010–11 *Second Division: 1 ::1994

Club records

*Most starts: Andrew Rabutla 229 *Most goals: Manuel Bucuane 88 *Most capped player: Manuel Bucuane *Most starts in a season: Webster Lichaba (1986), Helman Mkhalele (1993) both 46 *Most goals in a season: Philemon Masinga 27 (1991) *Record victory: 6–0 vs

Grand All Stars Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation) ...

(31 August 1985), (Mainstay Cup); vs Mabopane United Brothers (30 August 1986), (Mainstay Cup);
vs Umtata Bush Bucks (28 March 1992), (NSL); vs Denver Sundowns (21 February 1993), (African Cup Winners Cup) *Record defeat: 0–5 vs Kaizer Chiefs (24 December 2001), (Coca-Cola Cup)

League record

National Professional Soccer League

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

– 9th *

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

– 9th

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

– 4th * 1986 – 12th *

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

– 1st * 1988 – 2nd *

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

– 4th *

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

– 5th *

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

– 7th *

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

– 5th *

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

– 18th (relegated)

NSL Second Division

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

– 2nd (promoted)

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

– 10th

South African Premiership The South African Premiership, also known as the Betway Premiership for sponsorship reasons, and commonly referred to as the PSL after its governing body, is a professional soccer league in South Africa and the highest level of the South Afr ...

* 1996–97 – 7th * 1997–98 – 7th * 1998–99 – 10th * 1999–00 – 7th * 2000–01 – 4th * 2001–02 – 4th * 2002–03 – 8th * 2003–04 – 13th * 2004–05 – 13th * 2005–06 – 9th * 2006–07 – 7th * 2007–08 – 16th (relegated)

National First Division The South African Championship, officially known as the Motsepe Foundation Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest league of South African football after the South African Premiership. Both the South African Championship and ...

* 2008–09 – 1st (promoted)

South African Premiership The South African Premiership, also known as the Betway Premiership for sponsorship reasons, and commonly referred to as the PSL after its governing body, is a professional soccer league in South Africa and the highest level of the South Afr ...

* 2009–10 – 16th (relegated)

National First Division The South African Championship, officially known as the Motsepe Foundation Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest league of South African football after the South African Premiership. Both the South African Championship and ...

* 2010–11 – 1st (promoted)

South African Premiership The South African Premiership, also known as the Betway Premiership for sponsorship reasons, and commonly referred to as the PSL after its governing body, is a professional soccer league in South Africa and the highest level of the South Afr ...

* 2011–12 – 16th (relegated)

National First Division The South African Championship, officially known as the Motsepe Foundation Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest league of South African football after the South African Premiership. Both the South African Championship and ...

* 2012–13 – 14th * 2013–14 – 6th * 2014–15 – 2nd (promoted)

South African Premiership The South African Premiership, also known as the Betway Premiership for sponsorship reasons, and commonly referred to as the PSL after its governing body, is a professional soccer league in South Africa and the highest level of the South Afr ...

* 2015–16 – 16th (relegated)

National First Division The South African Championship, officially known as the Motsepe Foundation Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest league of South African football after the South African Premiership. Both the South African Championship and ...

* 2016–17 – 10th * 2017-18 – 3rd * 2018-19 – 13th * 2019-20 - 13th * 2020-21 - 9th * 2021-21 - 15th (relegated)

SAFA Second Division (Gauteng stream)

* 2022–23 – 3rd * 2023–24 – 4th * 2024–25 – 14th

Club officials/Technical team

*Owner/Chairman:

*Football manager: Bamuza Sono *Coach: Jomo Sono *Assistant coaches: Siza Dlamini & Gerald Mtshali *Goalkeeping coaches: Mpangi Merikani & Avril Phali

References

External links

*
Premier Soccer League
{{Greater Johannesburg, sports Association football clubs established in 1983 Premier Soccer League clubs Soccer clubs in Johannesburg National First Division clubs 1983 establishments in South Africa