FC Cincinnati gets first MLS win: Beating Nashville to the pitch a year early

FC Cincinnati takes the MLS pitch in 2019, one year before rival Nashville’s MLS expansion franchise starts play in the league. The announcement came this week by MLS Commissioner Don Garber.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced this week that FC Cincinnati begins MLS play in 2019. That beats MLS expansion club Nashville, who got named to expansion late last year, but takes the pitch in 2020.

Both teams enter their new, soccer-specific venues in 2021. Cincinnati’s 21,000-seat Nippert Stadium opens on the West End.

All MLS will closely watch how Cincinnati fills their venue. Scouts have acknowledged their MLS-class playing environment. Their attendance averages almost 24,500. They topped 30,000 three times.

They reached the second-largest Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup attendance with 32,250 for a semi-final.  Any given game-day, FC Cincinnati fans frequently score single-game well within the top-ten for all soccer matches in North America.

All that from an amazing USL franchise headed for MLS expansion.

What’s left for Cincinnati MLS expansion

They still have to decide which MLS conference Cincinnati will play in. That means MLS fans of a specific team need to do some homework.

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Those fans need to tune in an FC Cincinnati home match as soon as they can find it. Watch the pitch and watch the stands. Then, before you put in your opinion for where FCC should go, ask: Do I really want these guys coming after my players?

Speaking to Commissioner Garber and FC Cincinnati Carl Lindner, Mayor John Cranley said MLS believes in Cincinnati. They all spoke of the renaissance of economic and cultural growth coming.

Yet, FC Cincinnati brings a lot to MLS’s table, as well.

It’s a fact: FC Cincinnati players and supporters could stage a world-class soccer event on a schoolyard field. The players perform just that creatively. And the supporters celebrate their team as well as any group on this planet.

Now, thanks to MLS expansion and Cincinnati’s hard work – leadership, players, supporters: They have the world-class venue in which to stage these works.

Next: MLS Week 13 Power Rankings

Show us the beautiful game, Cincinnati.