On May 29, 2018, Major League Soccer awarded the FCC ownership group an expansion franchise, which began play in MLS under the FC Cincinnati name in 2019.

The return of nine players from 2017 was confirmed at this press conference: Matt Bahner, Kenney Walker, Danni König, Corben Bone, Jimmy McLaughlin, Garrett Halfhill, Justin Hoyte, Sem de Wit, and Josu.

Six additional players from the 2017 roster—Austin Berry, Mitch Hildebrandt, Djiby Fall, Harrison Delbridge, Andrew Wiedeman, and Paul Nicholson—were mentioned as still under consideration for 2018, pending contract discussions and future announcements.

[3] In the following weeks, Djiby Fall implied he would not be returning via Twitter,[4] and Paul Nicholson announced his retirement from professional soccer.

On July 30, 2018, forward Fanendo Adi was acquired from the Portland Timbers as the first MLS designated player for FC Cincinnati.