Dirty River Derby
| Other names | Dirty River Derby |
|---|---|
| Location | Ohio Valley |
| First meeting | CIN 2–3 LOU 2016 USL (April 16, 2016) |
| Latest meeting | CIN 1–0 LOU 2023 U.S. Open Cup (April 26, 2023) |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 12 |
| Most wins | FC Cincinnati (6) |
| Top scorer | Chandler Hoffman (LOU) (3 goals) |
| All-time series | Cincinnati: 6 Drawn: 2 Louisville: 4 |
| Largest victory | LOU 5–0 CIN 2017 USL (August 12, 2017) |
The Dirty River Derby, also known as the River Cities Cup, is a rivalry between American soccer clubs representing Cincinnati, Ohio and Louisville, Kentucky. From 2016 to 2018, the cities were respectively represented in the second-tier league now known as the USL Championship by FC Cincinnati and Louisville City FC. Both teams played in the Eastern Conference of what was then known as the United Soccer League, and the River Cities Cup was contested solely in regular-season matches between the two sides, with the winner of the regular-season series claiming the cup. After the 2018 season, FC Cincinnati ceased USL operations, with the ownership group having been awarded a Major League Soccer franchise that began play under the FC Cincinnati name in 2019. From that point forward, the rivalry only takes place if the two teams are drawn together in the U.S. Open Cup, with the first such meeting after FC Cincinnati's arrival in MLS taking place in 2019.
The teams are located in cities situated on the Ohio River and are separated by roughly 100 miles of Interstate 71. The winner of the regular-season series won the cup for that year.
The last regular-season league match between the teams began on September 11, 2018 (resumed and completed on September 14 due to weather), with FC Cincinnati winning 1–0. The final cup holders are Louisville City, who retained the cup by winning the previous two regular-season matches that season.