FC Cincinnati was a soccer club based in Cincinnati, Ohio that began play in 2016 in the competition then known as the United Soccer League and now as the USL Championship. The team was announced on August 12, 2015. The club's ownership group was led by Carl H. Lindner III. Alan Koch was the coach. On May 29, 2018, Major League Soccer awarded an expansion team to the FC Cincinnati ownership group. The MLS team began play under the FC Cincinnati name in 2019 and will move into a new stadium in 2021.