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 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. 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
NSL First 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. In 2008, Jomo Cosmos were relegated from top-flight football for the first time since 1993. After one season in the
National First Division, they returned to the Premiership 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==