In international competitions, the club has one CONCACAF Champions Cup title and one Copa Interamericana, the only United States team to win the latter.

In terms of trophies won, it is the joint-most successful overall club in American soccer (tied with the New York Cosmos and LA Galaxy).

Players such as Raúl Díaz Arce, Marco Etcheverry, Roy Lassiter, Jaime Moreno, Ben Olsen, and Eddie Pope, along with head coach, Bruce Arena, helped the club win eight of their 12 major titles from 1996 through 2000.

Throughout the 2010s, and into the early 2020s, the club managed by Olsen, went through mediocrity, with only one major trophy, and several missed playoff appearances, including two last place finishes in the league.

[11] Ahead of the season, United hired Bruce Arena,[12] who had led the University of Virginia men's soccer program to five NCAA College Cup titles,[13] to be the head coach of the club.

[17] During this late 1990's dynasty, the club was led by its "magic triangle" of Jaime Moreno, Marco Etcheverry, and Raul Diaz Arce.

In 1998 the club won the Eastern Conference regular season and postseason championship, but finished runners-up for the Supporters' Shield, and lost to Chicago Fire in MLS Cup 1998.

United suffered their worst loss in CONCACAF play, losing by a four-goal margin to Comunicaciones, a club they had beat the previous year in the Giants Cup.

Ahead of the 2003 season, United received the first overall draft pick in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft, where they selected University of Virginia standout, Alecko Eskandarian.

[31] That season, Adu, along with the likes of Christian Gómez, Moreno, and Brian Carroll, helped to propel United into the playoffs as the second seed in the East.

There they advanced past the New England Revolution in the Eastern Conference Final on penalty kicks in what has been called one of the best games in MLS history.

During Olsen's coaching career, he would qualify for the playoffs six times, with the furthest being the Eastern Conference final, and win one major title, the U.S. Open Cup in 2013.

[45] On the field during the 2012 season, United's fortunes fared much better, with new acquisitions Nick DeLeon, Lewis Neal, Maicon Santos, and Hamdi Salihi having immediate contributions to the club.

[49] Despite the team's poor showing in league play, D.C. United defeated Real Salt Lake in the U.S. Open Cup final thanks to a late first half goal from Lewis Neal.

Notable offseason acquisitions included Steve Birnbaum, Chris Rolfe, Fabian Espindola, Sean Franklin, and Bobby Boswell.

[63][64] The 2022 season ended in United finishing at the bottom of the MLS overall table, resulting in General Manager, Lucy Rushton, being relieved of her duties.

This second logo design reoriented the eagle facing left and removed the three stars below it, whose metaphor was retained by three raised wing feathers.

[92][93][94] On April 14, 2018, D.C. United played an MLS game against Columbus Crew SC at the Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, while Audi Field was being constructed.

[citation needed] La Norte has since merged with the District Ultras and occupied sections 127 and 128 at RFK Stadium prior to the team's move to Audi Field.

[108] When the league was founded in 1995, billionaire investor George Soros was the primary financial backer and director of Washington Soccer L.P., the group that owned the operating rights to D.C.

[109] Kevin Payne, former President of Soccer USA Partners and current CEO of D.C. United, was instrumental in organizing this ownership group.

Other investors included D.C. United president Kevin Payne and Blue Devil Development, headed by former Duke basketball players Brian Davis and Christian Laettner.

[7] In July 2012, Indonesian businessman Erick Thohir and Washington-area sports executive Jason Levien, minority owners of the Philadelphia 76ers National Basketball Association franchise, joined Chang as partners.

Thohir and Levien stated their primary goals are to make United a global brand and build a soccer-specific stadium for the club.

[116] On June 4, 2021, NFL running back Mark Ingram II joined DC United's ownership group as an investor.

[122] Sinclair's local cable channel WJLA 24/7 News served two stints as D.C. United's television partner, covering the 2016 through 2018 seasons as well as 2020.

The team signed a $12 million contract for four years, marking the first time it collected a substantial rights fee for its local games.

D.C. United canceled the contract before the final match of the 2019 regular season, opting to stream the remaining game on its website for free.

[132] Coverage in both languages returned for the 2014 season, as D.C. United entered into a four-year deal with CBS Radio, including English commentary on WJFK-FM (106.7 FM) or WJFK (1580 AM) and Spanish on WLZL-HD2 (107.9 FM-HD2).

Notable players to have graduated from the D.C United Academy include Bill Hamid, who has been called up by the U.S. national team, and Andy Najar, who has been capped for Honduras.