After the team name was founded in 1970, Cosmos general manager Clive Toye chose the green and yellow of the Brazil national team as playing colors as part of his strategy to lure Pelé, one of that country's star players, to the United States [REF].
The artist commissioned by Toye to design the team's logo was Wayland Moore, a sports artist from Atlanta who had already worked on the logo, uniform and program covers of that city's soccer team, the Chiefs.