FC Cincinnati to join Eastern Conference beginning in 2019

MLS announces full calendar of offseason roster building events

NEW YORK (Friday, Nov. 9, 2018) – Major League Soccer today announced the full calendar of offseason roster building events, highlighted by the 2018 MLS Expansion Draft on December 11.

FC Cincinnati begin MLS play in 2019 as a club in the Eastern Conference, and through the Expansion Draft will select five current MLS players to help shape the core of their inaugural roster. FC Cincinnati’s Expansion Draft selections will be announced live at 2 p.m. ET during a special Expansion Draft selection show on MLSsoccer.com.

Since 2014, each round of expansion has involved two incoming clubs selecting players from the eligible player list, therefore, for the purpose of the Expansion Draft, LAFC and FC Cincinnati are considered a single round of expansion. While the two expansion clubs are selecting players in successive years, for competitive consistency, current MLS teams that had players selected by LAFC in the 2017 MLS Expansion Draft will be exempt from the 2018 MLS Expansion Draft, however, LAFC players will be eligible for selection by FC Cincinnati.

FC Cincinnati will receive additional allocation money as compensation for a reduction in the eligible player pool due to the exempted teams.

The complete list of players eligible for selection by FC Cincinnati in the 2018 MLS Expansion Draft will be released on Monday, Dec. 10.

For more details about the MLS Expansion Draft please visit:

MLS Expansion Draft Rules | Expansion Draft History

In addition to the Expansion Draft, MLS released the full calendar for offseason roster building events, detailed below.