Chicago Fire Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in the Chicago, Illinois. The team competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference of the league. The franchise is named after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and was founded on October 8, 1997, the event's 126th anniversary. The team began play in 1998 as one of the league's first expansion teams. The Fire won the MLS Cup as well as the U.S. Open Cup (the "double") on their first season. They have also won U.S. Open Cups in 2000, 2003, and 2006; in addition to the 2003 MLS Supporters' Shield.
