The Black-and-Red will have a new opponent come 2019.
On Tuesday, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber announced Cincinnati has been awarded an expansion team. The club will begin MLS play in the 2019 season.
The expansion side, which will continue as FC Cincinnati when it joins MLS, plans to play at Nippert Stadium until 2021, when a new 21,000-seat soccer stadium in Cincinnati’s West End neighborhood is expected to be completed.
FC Cincinnati’s managing owner is Carl H. Lindner III, the co-CEO of Cincinnati-based American Financial Group, which owns Great American Insurance. Among Lindner’s partners are Scott Farmer, Chairman and CEO of Cintas Corp., and George Joseph, President of Joseph Toyota and Principal of other automobile dealerships in Greater Cincinnati, as well as members of the Lindner family and other regional business and civic leaders.
"Major League Soccer is proud to introduce Cincinnati as our 26th team," said Garber. "The rise of Cincinnati as a passionate soccer market in recent years, coinciding with the city’s growing economy and reputation as a top destination for young professionals makes it an ideal city for our growing league. We congratulate Carl Lindner and his partners, and also the soccer fans of Cincinnati, who have passionately supported FC Cincinnati in the USL."
The club also recently finalized a partnership with Mercy Health, the largest hospital system in Ohio, to become the team’s jersey-front partner when it begins play next season in MLS.
During the coming months, Major League Soccer will announce which conference FC Cincinnati will play in beginning in 2019.
Welcome to the league, Cincinnati!
