HAVANA (AP) β Two of the world’s most baseball-obsessed nations have declared an end to a half-century of hostility, raising hopes of warmer ties between the home of the Major League and the source of some of its best talent.
But the most important act of sports diplomacy since then is taking place on a soccer field.
On Tuesday, the New York Cosmos become the first U.S. professional team to play in Cuba since Presidents Raul Castro and Barack Obama announced that they were re-establishing diplomatic relations.
Cuban officials say the friendly match against Cuba’s national team is a sign of soccer’s growing popularity on the island, and an important step in the normalization of the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba.
