The Cincinnati Dutch Lions FC is an American amateur

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club based in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, and playing home games in the suburb of Highland Heights, Kentucky. Founded in 2013, the team played in USL League Two. The club went into hiatus during the 2020

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The club was last owned by majority stakeholder Hans Philippo, who purchased the club alongside Club President Robert Rack in January 2017. This new ownership group includes Dr. Suresh Gupta and Mike Mossel, in representation of the Dutch Lions Capital Group, who remain minority owners in the club. Brandon Ponchak was the club's general manager after being hired in March 2017. Their inaugural match at the

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...

Soccer Complex on May 9, 2014 featured an appearance by soccer legend Ruud Gullit as he participated in a "Kick the Crossbar" contest and a pre-game ceremony. The Cincinnati Dutch Lions were created and owned by Dutch Lions Capital Group BV, owners of the New York City Dutch Lions, Dayton Dutch Lions, Florida Gulf Coast Dutch Lions, and the Houston Dutch Lions. CDLFC has found success in their short time including an appearance in the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The ownership group of Philippo and Rack have made several changes for the club's 2017 season including purchasing a charter bus for the team, moving to th
NKU Soccer Stadium
as their home field and the creation of a new bar in support of the club. In November 2019, CDLFC became the first club to join the brand new Ohio Valley Premier League which began play in 2020. Later in 2020 the CDLFC returned to the USL League Two.

Seasons

The Premier Development League (USL PDL) rebranded to USL League Two (USL2) after the 2018 season. ^The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Venue

*2014:

*2015:

*2016: William Mason High School *2017: Northern Kentucky University *2018: Northern Kentucky University *2019: Northern Kentucky University *2020: Northern Kentucky University

Kit

Kit manufacturers

*2014: Nike *2015: Nike *2016: Patrick *2017: Under Armour *2018: Under Armour *2019: Under Armour *2020: Under Armour

Shirt sponsors

*2014: N/A *2015: Holland Roofing *2016:

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

*2017: Mercedes-Benz of Fort Mitchell *2018: Mercedes-Benz of Fort Mitchell *2019: Mercedes-Benz of Fort Mitchell *2020: Mercedes-Benz of Fort Mitchell

Head coaches

* Terry Nicholl (2014–2016) * Sid van Druenen (2017) * Paul Nicholson (2018–2020)

Notable former players

* Yesin van der Pluijm signed in 2021 by Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC; * Aimé Mabika 2021 MLS SuperDraft pick, 26th pick by

Inter Miami CF Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami (), commonly referred to as Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (M ...

* Noah Lawrence 2021 MLS SuperDraft pick, 55th pick by Austin FC * Brandon Clegg signed in 2020 by

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* Jimmy Filerman signed in 2020 by

; signed in 2021 by FC Tucson * Connor Rutz signed in 2020 by

* Azaad Liadi signed in 2020 by FC Tucson; signed in 2021 by South Georgia Tormenta FC * Tendai Jirira signed in 2020 by

* Wesley Storm signed in 2020 by

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation ...

* Mark Lindstrӧm signed in 2020 by Pittsburgh Riverhounds * Sammy Sergi signed in 2020 by New Mexico United * Arthur Rogers signed in 2019 by

Hartford Athletic Hartford Athletic is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The club was founded in 2018 and started play in the USL Championship in 2019. It is the only pro soccer team in Connecticut (thoug ...

* Dani Fischer signed in 2019 by Saint Louis FC * Geoffrey Dee signed in 2019 by Louisville City FC * Adam Wilson 2019 MLS SuperDraft pick, 39th pick by

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

* Kevin Barajas signed in 2018 by Atlanta United 2 * Zeus de la Paz signed in 2018 by Oldham Athletic AFC * Jake Stovall 2017 MLS SuperDraft pick, 66th pick by

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

. Played with Puerto Rico FC in 2017 * Garrett Halfhill signed in 2017 by FC Cincinnati * Jalen Brown 2017 MLS SuperDraft pick, 38th pick by New York City FC. Played with Rochester Rhinos in 2017 * Oriol Cortes signed in 2016 by Orange County SC * Kyle Smith signed in 2016 by Louisville City FC; signed in 2018 by Orlando City SC * Alejandro Garcia signed in 2016 by Orlando City SC * Eric Osswald signed in 2015 by Real Monarchs SLC

References

{{Ohio Sports USL League Two teams Dutch Lions Association football clubs established in 2013 2013 establishments in Ohio Soccer clubs in Kentucky Campbell County, Kentucky Dutch Lions FC