page_title: FC Cincinnati
section_title: Rivalries
hierarchical_section_title: FC Cincinnati / Rivalries
caption_attribution_description: The "Hell Is Real" sign that appears on Interstate 71 between Cincinnati and Columbus.
context_page_description: FC Cincinnati are an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The club plays in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer. The team succeeded the lower-division team of the same name and was announced on May 29, 2018, when MLS awarded an expansion franchise to Cincinnati. The team began MLS play on March 2, 2019 with its first match against Seattle Sounders FC. The club's ownership group is led by Carl H. Lindner III with Jeff Berding serving as president and Gerard Nijkamp as general manager.
context_section_description: Cincinnati has an in-state rival in Columbus Crew. The idea of the Ohio soccer rivalry first gained popularity ahead of a 2017 U.S. Open Cup match between FC Cincinnati (then in the United Soccer League) and the Crew. The rivalry was dubbed the Hell Is Real Derby after a billboard on Interstate 71, the highway between Columbus and Cincinnati. The clubs faced each other in their first league matches in 2019: on August 10 in Columbus and August 25 in Cincinnati (the latter match took place during MLS Rivalry Week).
  FCC also retains a heated rivalry from its USL days with current lower division club Louisville. The two teams most recently played each other in the U.S. Open Cup on June 12, 2019.
caption: The "Hell Is Real" sign on Interstate 71 between Cincinnati and Columbus
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