Since its founding on August 12th, 2015, FC Cincinnati has ignited a fierce and passionate following and has created a new and united generation of soccer fans in the Queen City.
FC Cincinnati – FC Cinci for short – began its life in the now second tier of American soccer: the United Soccer League (USL) in 2016. The University of Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium was and remains the teams home ground.
From the beginning, FC Cinci was different. In their maiden USL campaign in 2016, the club boasted a league-high average attendance of 18,808 fans. The next highest was 11,000. In 2017, average attendance rose to 21,00, and in 2018 it rose to 25,000. FC Cinci had the highest attendance in all their three seasons in the USL. These numbers shattered the USL attendance records and first put FC Cinci on the map.
FC Cincinnati
On July 16th, 2016, FC Cinci got its first international recognition when they hosted a friendly against London-based Premier League club Crystal Palace. Despite losing 2-0, 35,061 fans showed up to the game – setting the record for the largest attendance for a soccer match in the history of Ohio.
Following this record-breaking match, FC Cinci then went on a historic run in the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open – a competition involving all professional soccer clubs in the United States. FC Cinci, still a USL team, beat Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs the Columbus Crew and the Chicago Fire. They became the first non-MLS club to reach the semi-finals of the competition since 2011. A heartbreaking 3-2 loss to New York Red Bulls ended the fairytale run.
With their reputation established and a zealous fanbase behind them, majority owner Carl Lindner III along with the club hierarchy, made their bid to be the 26th MLS expansion team.
On May 29th, 2018, FC Cincinnati was officially welcomed to the MLS and became the 24th actively participating member in the competition.
FC Cincinnati rose to the pinnacle of American soccer in four short years.
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