FC Cincinnati top candidate for MLS expansion, blog says

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FC Cincinnati top candidate for MLS expansion, blog says

Nov 9, 2016, 6:27am EST Updated Nov 9, 2016, 12:49pm EST

FC Cincinnati is the No. 1 expansion candidate to join Major League Soccer and could be in the nation’s top league within two years, according to a national soccer blog.

FC Cincinnati’s powerful inaugural season at the gate and on the field coupled with its powerful ownership team led Chad Smith on SB Nation’s The Blue Testament blog to rank FC Cincinnati as the top MLS expansion candidate.

Smith went so far as to predict that FC Cincinnati will be in MLS in two years, joining the league in 2018 and jumping ahead of Miami as a presumed expansion city.

“Here is my bold prediction based on nothing but my own gut,” he wrote. “Cincinnati has a big meeting set with (MLS commissioner) Don Garber. Cincinnati has put over 30,000 butts in seats in their debut season. Cincinnati is owned by a billionaire. Cincinnati fills in those gaps in the middle of the country like Minnesota did last time. I predict that they will leap frog Miami and join MLS with LAFC (Los Angeles Football Club) in 2018. That will keep things very balanced between East and West and make up for the fact that Miami still isn’t ready to go.”