FC Cincinnati

United Soccer League era (2016–18)

In May 2015, rumors of a new USL club in Cincinnati were reported by the media. There was speculation regarding the relationship the team would have with the Cincinnati Bengals, as well as a former Cincinnati soccer club, the Cincinnati Kings, as Jeff Berding was named as part of the ownership group. Berding was employed by the Bengals and on the board of the youth soccer club Kings Hammer FC. The Lindner family, of American Financial Group which is headquartered in Cincinnati, was reported as the owner of the new team with Carl Lindner III representing the owners at the press conference.

Then on August 12, 2015, FC Cincinnati announced that John Harkes would coach the new club and that the club would play in Nippert Stadium on the campus of the University of Cincinnati.

On April 16, 2016, FC Cincinnati broke the USL attendance record for a game, with 20,497 in attendance for the rivalry game against Louisville City FC, and, on May 14, against another rival Pittsburgh Riverhounds, broke its own record with 23,375 in attendance. On September 17, 2016, the team broke the USL record again, when they drew 24,376 for their game against Orlando City B. The team broke its own USL record once again on August 5, 2017, when they drew 25,308 for their game against Orlando City B.

On July 16, 2016, FC Cincinnati set the record for highest attendance at a soccer match in the state of Ohio when 35,061 people came for an exhibition game against Crystal Palace.^[] This would later be broken on July 27, 2016 when an International Champions Cup match between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain drew 86,641 people in Ohio Stadium in Columbus.

On October 2, 2016, FC Cincinnati hosted their first-ever playoff match against Charleston Battery, losing 2–1 in the quarterfinals of the 2016 USL playoffs. In the process, the club broke the playoff and single-game attendance record at 30,187.

On June 14, 2017, FC Cincinnati played their first match against a Major League Soccer team, Columbus Crew, during the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Cincinnati won 1–0, with player Baye Djiby Fall scoring the only goal of the game. In the process, Cincinnati broke the attendance record for the U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round with 30,160 tickets sold, only 5,000 behind their club attendance record of 35,061.

On June 28, 2017, FC Cincinnati played their second match against a Major League Soccer team, Chicago Fire, in the Round of 16 during the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Cincinnati would prevail 3–1 on penalty kicks after a 0–0 draw, with goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt stopping three of four penalty kicks. He totaled 10 saves during the match. The attendance of 32,287 was the second largest Modern Era crowd in U.S. Open Cup history. The match was televised nationally on ESPN.

On August 15, 2017, FC Cincinnati were defeated at home in front of a sold-out crowd by the New York Red Bulls 3–2 in the US Open Cup semi-final. FCC was leading 2–0 in the second half before eventually losing in extra time.

On April 7, 2018, the club set the USL attendance record for a home opener at 25,667 in a 1–0 loss to rival Louisville City.

On September 29, 2018, the club broke the USL attendance record once again in its final regular-season home match before its MLS move, drawing in 31,478 in a 3–0 win over rival Indy Eleven. After the match, they were awarded the USL regular season championship title, having clinched the trophy the prior week away to Richmond Kickers.

Major League Soccer expansion

The club owners began negotiations with Major League Soccer over a potential expansion franchise in early 2016, and Cincinnati was announced as one of ten cities that had expressed interest in the slots for teams 25 to 28. MLS Commissioner Don Garber visited Cincinnati in December 2016 to tour Nippert Stadium and meet with city and club officials, complimenting the city and its fans. FC Cincinnati formally submitted its expansion bid in January 2017, including a shortlist of potential stadium locations.

On May 29, 2018, Major League Soccer announced that Cincinnati would join the league in 2019 as an expansion team under the FC Cincinnati brand. Don Garber is noted as saying, “If it wasn’t for the stadium, for The Bailey, FC Cincinnati wouldn’t have been in Major League Soccer.” Plans for the development of TQL Stadium, a 26,000-seat soccer-specific venue in the West End set to open in 2021, were soon underway.

FC Cincinnati signed its first two MLS players, Fanendo Adi and Fatai Alashe, in July 2018. Adi was the team's first Designated Player. Both players were loaned to the FC Cincinnati USL team for the remainder of the 2018 season.

FC Cincinnati selected five players from certain MLS teams in the expansion draft, which took place on December 11, 2018. The players were Darren Mattocks (D.C United), Kei Kamara (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Roland Lamah (FC Dallas), Eric Alexander (Houston Dynamo), and Hassan Ndam (New York Red Bulls). Kei Kamara was then traded to the Colorado Rapids for an international roster spot.

Major League Soccer era (2019–present)

FC Cincinnati played their first match as a Major League Soccer franchise on March 3, 2019, a 4–1 road loss to Seattle Sounders FC. They played their first MLS home opener on March 17, 2019, a 3–0 win over Portland Timbers before a sellout crowd of 32,350. On May 7, 2019, the club fired head coach Alan Koch after a 2–7–2 start to the 2019 MLS season. Assistant coach Yoann Damet was named as interim head coach. President and general manager Jeff Berding cited a culmination of on-field performance and off-field matters for the dismissal. On August 8, 2019, Ron Jans was officially hired and made head coach of FC Cincinnati. However, Jans resigned on February 17, 2020, amidst an investigation into his alleged use of a racial slur.

On August 6, 2021, FC Cincinnati announced that the club and then general manager Gerard Nijkamp had "parted ways effective immediately". On September 27, 2021, the club relieved the duties of head coach Jaap Stam, 2-time interim head coach Yoann Damet, and assistant coach Said Bakkati. Former MLS defender Tyrone Marshall was named interim coach.

On October 4, 2021, FC Cincinnati announced the hiring of Chris Albright as the general manager of the club. On December 14, 2021, FC Cincinnati officially hired Pat Noonan as the new head coach of the team. Under the first season of the Albright-Noonan regime, the Orange and Blue would qualify for their first post-season in 2022 on 49 points (12–9–13), good for fifth in the East (eighth in the league). Brenner and Brandon Vázquez would score a joint-best 18 goals in the regular season, the first time in MLS history teammates had made such a mark; in addition, Luciano Acosta contributed 10 goals and a league-leading 19 assists to a Cincinnati side that netted 64 goals on the season. Cincinnati defeated New York Red Bulls in their first MLS Cup Playoffs match (2–1) before losing to top-seeded Philadelphia Union in the conference semifinals, 1–0.

FC Cincinnati's June 21, 2023 win against Toronto FC tied the MLS record for consecutive home wins in a single-season, a record held since 2002 by the San Jose Earthquakes. The club was the first in the 2023 season to clinch a playoff berth in the MLS Cup Playoffs, doing so away at Atlanta United FC on August 30. On September 23, a 3–0 victory against Charlotte FC earned the club its first qualification to the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup.

FC Cincinnati won the MLS Supporters' Shield on September 30, 2023, after beating Toronto FC away 3–2. The trophy awards the regular season's top-finishing club across both conferences. It is the second trophy the club has won in its existence and the first in its MLS era. FCC is the second-fastest active expansion club to win the Supporters' Shield since the league's first expansion in 1998; 2019's LAFC, in their second season, is the only club to have done so sooner. In the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs, the club advanced past the New York Red Bulls and Philadelphia Union before falling to rivals Columbus Crew in the Eastern Conference Final by a score of 3-2.

On February 22, 2024, FC Cincinnati played their first ever match in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, a 2-0 away win at Cavalier FC of Jamaica. The club advanced past Cavalier 6-0 on aggregate before falling to CF Monterrey of Mexico 3-1 on aggregate in the Round of 16.