Cincinnati: Ohio's sports pearl | OneFootball

Our World Cup travel guide

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is to start for us in a very special way - with a match in the heart of the USA in Cincinnati, Ohio. We are visiting a city that has a remarkable skyline, sports culture and stadium flare - and a whole lot more to offer than you might suspect at first glance.

Ahead of our match at the TQL Stadium against CF Pachuca late on Wednesday (midnight Austrian time), we are taking a look at some exciting facts about the venue, the stadium and the sporting soul of Cincinnati. Come with us to find out what makes the city of 300,000 (with close to two million in the wider metropolitan region) so special.

The Queen of the West

Having been founded in 1788 on the Ohio River, the city is located at the tri-state boundary between Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky and remains one of the most important trading and factory cities in the USA. Along with English and Irish settlers, lots of emigrants from Germany came to find a new home in Cincinnati, which is reflected in many of its street names. The city still holds the biggest Oktoberfest in the USA every year.

MLS, MLB and NFL: notable successes and sport history

Cincinnati is the home of many top teams! The local soccer team FC Cincinnati were founded in 2015 and have played in the MLS since 2019. They won the 2023 Supporters’ Shield for being the best team at the end of the regular season.

The most iconic side in the city have to be the Cincinnati Reds. Founded in 1869 as the Red Stockings, they were the world's first professional baseball team. They won the World Series in Major League Baseball five times (most recently in 1990). Also well-known are the Cincinnati Bengals. The American Football team of superstar Joe Burrow have yet to win an NFL title but have been in the Superbowl as recently as 2021.

UNESCO & Co: an extraordinary World Cup stadium

The 26,000-seater MLS stadium of FC Cincinnati will be the venue of four Club World Cup games – and all will see a German-speaking team involved! Bayern Munich are starting it off on Sunday against Auckland City, followed by our game and then two matches from Borussia Dortmund.

The stadium opened in 2021 is the second newest ground in the Club World Cup after Geodis Park in Nashville (2022) and impressed from the start. In 2022, the TQL Stadium took the honour at the World Football Summit Awards of best stadium. The extraordinary fan experience, high-tech interior and efficient matchday operations, individual support and catering offering were all praised.

UNESCO also awarded it the Prix Versailles, an international prize for architecture and design, in the sport category.

We therefore have all the reasons we need to say we are looking forward to getting to Cincinnati and hope to leave with fond memories and our first FIFA World Club Cup points there.

Opener against Pachuca live & for free!

Streaming service DAZN will broadcast our match against Pachuca late on Wednesday and all other FIFA Club World Cup matches live and for free! No subscription is needed, as you just have to set up a free account.

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Everything worth knowing about the Club World Cup can be found in our Info Hub with all the details on the massive tournament.

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