FC Cincinnati Logo PNG
The FC Cincinnati logo conveys the city’s mood: strong and proud. The lion, a symbol of courage and strength, echoes Cincinnati’s coat of arms. It seems to guard the spirit of the team and its fans. The club grew out of the Lindner family’s initiative, which became its heart and driving force, and through which football in the city began to sound different.
FC Cincinnati is a professional soccer club based in Cincinnati, Ohio, that has competed in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference since 2019. Before that, the franchise competed in the United Soccer League. Negotiations between the club’s owners and Major League Soccer representatives about bringing the franchise to Cincinnati lasted almost a year, from early 2016 until mid-December. On May 29, 2018, MLS announced that the local FC would join the league as FC Cincinnati.
The investment group that previously owned FC Cincinnati now owns the new franchise. The disbanded club operated for about 4 years, from August 15, 2015, to November 30, 2018. Carl H. Lindner III, co-CEO of American Financial Group, is its majority owner. Minority owners hold the remaining shares, including Chris Lindner (Carl’s son), Mike Mossel (co-founder of Dayton Dutch Lions), Jack Wyant, George Joseph, Steve Hightower, Scott Farmer, Jeff Berding, and David L. Thompson.
The club was initially named Futbol Club Cincinnati. It was the only MLS member to use the word “football” in Spanish. On April 16, 2018, the board of directors held a special meeting to change “Futbol” to “Fussball” (“ss” analogous to the German symbol ß) in legal and official documents. However, it is not used in sports-related mentions of the team or in public discussions. Fortunately, the rebranding did not affect the “FC” abbreviation and the shortened name “FC Cincy.” The renaming of Fussball Club Cincinnati honors the city’s German heritage.
The team’s moniker, “The Orange and Blue,” has been used since the team’s inception, but it is now fixed in the branding. Its primary color palette includes orange and blue. The FC Cincinnati of 2015-2018 also used these colors, borrowed from the Dayton Dutch Lions, but the current colors seem brighter and bolder. Secondary colors white, dark blue, and grey are added to enhance this unique soccer color palette.
Meaning and History
Major League Soccer’s FC Cincinnati debuted in 2019 with a logo whose concept and colors resembled those of the same-named team in the United Soccer League. However, Cincinnati’s new logo design is splendid. It has a vintage aesthetic with a modern twist that is extremely attractive.
What is FC Cincinnati?
It is a soccer club based in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded by a group that included the Lindner family. Carl H. Lindner III currently owns it. The team officially announced its roster in 2015, and players began competing in 2018. They debuted in the USL Championship, and their home arena was Nippert Stadium.
2015 – 2018
The first FC Cincinnati logo featured a rich, bold color scheme, signaling the club’s ambitions even before its first major sporting results. The blue shield with an orange outline depicts an old city’s coat of arms. The look carries echoes of medieval symbolism and knightly tournaments.
The upper part of the shield draws attention with an architectural motif. Three massive battlements are shaped like tower tops, with a separate element above each resembling a crown and hovering over the shield. The entire upper group is rendered in orange.
The FC abbreviation looks restrained and strict, in a style close to Gotham Bold or DIN Condensed. The letterforms are straight and compact. Below, the name CINCINNATI is set in white. The letters are vertically stretched, narrow, and tightly spaced. In style, the typography resembles Univers or Alternate Gothic.
The lower part of the shield features the mark’s main symbol. A heraldic griffin, combining the strength of a lion and the freedom of an eagle, is depicted holding a ball and a sword in its paws, with a crown above its head. The figure’s orange color echoes other elements of the emblem, tying the composition into a single narrative image filled with power and dignity.
2018 – today
The current FC Cincinnati crest conveys a cohesive, well-balanced design. The mark is based on a shield. A thin dark blue line outlines its outer contour, visually separating the emblem from the background. The shield’s inner space is divided diagonally into two zones that extend toward opposite corners.
The upper section is filled with blue and contains the letters FC in white. The typography is strict and close to DIN Condensed or Bebas Neue. Below, along the diagonal dividing line, is the city name CINCINNATI. The inscription is rendered in dark blue. The letters are vertically stretched, horizontally compressed, and tightly spaced.
The lower zone of the shield is orange and features a white winged lion. The lion stands on its hind legs, with its front paw raised, holding a sword. The silhouette itself is simplified. A crown sits on the head, referencing Cincinnati’s nickname, the Queen City. Seven segments of the mane point to the city’s seven hills. The wing is divided into three sections, each linked to the years the team played in the USL before moving to MLS. The curved tail forms the outline of the letter C, the first letter of the city name.
The winged lion on an orange field carries a strong historical subtext. This symbol traces its origins to the Venetian Republic and is associated with Saint Mark, who in European culture is linked to strength and nobility.
Font and Colors
The FC Cincinnati emblem takes the form of a Norman or early Gothic heraldic shield shaped like a teardrop. Its main element is a winged lion with a crown and sword, the so-called Lion of St. Mark, symbolizing the best human qualities. The crown denotes the city’s authority. The sword, in turn, indicates a constant readiness to fight for high ideals.
The logo includes the inscription “FC Cincinnati.” The acronym, short for “Football Club,” sits in the upper-right corner within a distorted triangle. Designers developed a custom font, with vertical strokes cut at a sharp angle. The nickname stretches diagonally from bottom to top, visually dividing the shield in two. It’s written in an italic sans-serif font with a strong leftward slant.
The emblem also features all of the club’s official colors, both primary and secondary. These include orange (#FE5000), blue (#003087), light grey (#BBBCBC), white (#FFFFFF), and dark blue (#041E42). Together, they make the shield’s base light while keeping all the details dark. Only the letters “FC” and the lion’s silhouette are colored white to contrast with the bright geometric figures.