Brazilian soccer legend Pele waves to the crowd after arriving with the New York Cosmos at Jose Marti Airport on Sunday in Havana.

The Cosmos kicked off a new era in sporting relations between the US and Cuba when they become the first American sports team in 16 years to play on the island.

Cuban officials announced last week that the Baltimore Orioles - the last professional US team to play in Cuba in 1999 - would return later this year to play the Cuba's national baseball team.

Earlier in May, Cuba's state-controlled television also took the unprecedented step of televising an MLB game involving a Cuban player, Kendrys Morales of the Kansas City Royals, against the Texas Rangers.

It was the first time Cuba screened a match involving one of its legion of MLB players who are officially barred from playing in the US and often portrayed as "deserters".

Agence France-Presse