It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.
Over the club's history, D.C. United has been considered to be the flagship franchise of MLS winning 13 international and domestic titles.
[1] United was also the first club to win both the Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup consecutively.
[3][4] Subsequently, United won the now-defunct Copa Interamericana, a competition between the CONCACAF on CONMEBOL champion that year to determine the best soccer club in the Americas.
In the 1998, and final edition of the Copa Interamericana, D.C. United defeated Vasco da Gama of Brazil to take the title.