2017–18 CONCACAF Champions League
| 2017–18 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Dates | August 2017 – April 2018 |
| Teams | 24 (from maximum of 13 associations) |
The 2017–18 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2017–18 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons)[1][2] will be the 10th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 53rd edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
The winners of the 2017–18 CONCACAF Champions League will qualify as the CONCACAF representative at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Qualification
North American Zone
Central American Zone
Caribbean ZoneA total of 24 teams participate in the CONCACAF Champions League: nine from the North American Zone (from three associations), twelve from the Central American Zone (from at most seven associations), and three from the Caribbean Zone (from at most three associations).[3] Therefore, a maximum of 13 out of the 41 CONCACAF member associations may participate in the tournament.
Clubs may be disqualified and replaced by a club from another association if the club does not have an available stadium that meets CONCACAF regulations for safety. If a club's own stadium fails to meet the set standards then it may find a suitable replacement stadium within its own country. However, if it is still determined that the club cannot provide the adequate facilities then it runs the risk of being replaced.
North America
Nine teams from the North American Football Union (NAFU) qualify to the Champions League. The allocation to the three NAFU member associations is as follows: four berths for each of Mexico and the United States, and one berth for Canada.
For Mexico, the winners and runners-up of the Liga MX Apertura and Clausura tournaments earn berths in Pot 3 of the tournament's group stage. If a team reaches both tournament finals, the vacated berth is reallocated through regular season record.
For the United States, three berths are allocated through the Major League Soccer (MLS) regular season and playoffs, to the MLS Cup winner and the regular season Eastern Conference and Western Conference winners (if U.S.-based); the fourth berth is allocated to the winner of its domestic cup competition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. All four teams are placed in Pot 3. If a team qualifies through multiple berths, or if any of the MLS berths are taken by a Canada-based MLS team, the berth is reallocated to the best U.S.-based team in the Supporters' Shield table which has failed to otherwise qualify.
For Canada, the winner of the domestic cup competition, the Canadian Championship, earns the Voyageurs Cup and the lone Canadian berth into the tournament, in Pot 2.
Central America
Twelve teams from the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) qualify to the Champions League. The allocation to the seven UNCAF member associations is as follows: two berths for each of Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama and El Salvador, and one berth for each of Nicaragua and Belize. The teams from Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, and the first team from Panama are placed in Pot 2, and the second team from Panama and the teams from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Belize are placed in Pot 1.
All of these leagues employ a split season with two tournaments in one year, so both tournament champions qualify if there are two available berths (if the same team wins both tournaments, the runner-up with the better aggregate record also qualifies), or the champion with the better aggregate record qualifies if there is only one available berth.
If one or more clubs is precluded, it is supplanted by a club from another Central American association. The reallocation is based on results from previous Champions League tournaments.
Caribbean
Three teams from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) qualify to the Champions League. The three berths, in Pot 1, are allocated to the top three finishers of the CFU Club Championship, a subcontinental tournament open to clubs from the 31 CFU member associations. In order for a team to qualify for the CFU Club Championship, they usually need to finish as the champion or runner-up of their respective association's league in the previous season, but professional teams may also be selected by their associations if they play in the league of another country.
If any Caribbean club is precluded, it is supplanted by the fourth-place finisher from the CFU Club Championship.
Teams
The following 24 teams (from at most 13 associations) qualified for the tournament.
In the following table, the number of appearances, last appearance, and previous best result count only those in the CONCACAF Champions League era starting from 2008–09 (not counting those in the era of the Champions' Cup from 1962 to 2008).
- Notes
- ^ Guatemala (GUA): On October 28, 2016, FIFA suspended the National Football Federation of Guatemala for political interference by the Government of Guatemala. Until the suspension is lifted, Guatemalan teams are not permitted to participate in international competitions.[4] CONCACAF has set the deadline of May 1, 2017 for the suspension to be lifted, otherwise by rule, Guatemala's entrants in the 2017–18 CONCACAF Champions League would be disqualified and replaced by teams from other Central American associations.[5]
- ^ United States (USA): Since FC Dallas won both the Supporters' Shield and the U.S. Open Cup, one of these berths passed to the next best American team in the Supporters' Shield table, the Colorado Rapids.[6] Should Seattle win MLS Cup they would qualify. If Toronto FC win, then New York City FC would advance as the next highest placed team in the Supporters' Shield table.
Draw
The 24 teams are drawn into eight groups of three, with each group containing one team from each of the three pots. Teams from the same association (excluding "wildcard" teams which replace a team from another association) cannot be drawn with each other in the group stage, and teams from Mexico and the United States have to be drawn into separate groups.[3]
The allocation of teams to each pot, as of the 2016–17 edition, are as follows:
- Pot 1 contains the second team from Panama, two teams from El Salvador, one team each from Nicaragua and Belize, and three teams from the Caribbean.
- Pot 2 contains two teams each from Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala, the first team from Panama, and one team from Canada.
- Pot 3 contains four teams each from Mexico and the United States.
| Pot 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Panama 2(Árabe Unido or TBD) |
 El Salvador 1 |
El Salvador 2 |
 Nicaragua 1 |
 Belize 1 |
 Caribbean 1 |
Caribbean 2 |
Caribbean 3 |
| Pot 2 | |||
 Costa Rica 1 |
Costa Rica 2 |
 Honduras 1 |
Honduras 2 |
 Guatemala 1 |
Guatemala 2 |
Panama 1 (Árabe Unido or TBD) |
 Toronto FC |
| Pot 3 | |||
 Mexico 1 |
Mexico 2 |
Mexico 3 |
Mexico 4 |
 USA 1 |
FC Dallas |
New York Red Bulls |
Colorado Rapids |
See also
References
- ↑ "Scotiabank Joins CONCACAF as Official Partner". CONCACAF.com. December 9, 2014.
- ↑ "Official Logo Unveiled for Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League". CONCACAF.com. February 10, 2015.
- 1 2 3 "Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League 2016–17 Regulations" (PDF). CONCACAF.com.
- ↑ "Suspension of the Guatemala Football Association". FIFA. October 28, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
- ↑ "Deadlines Set for FEDEFUT". CONCACAF.com. November 9, 2016.
- ↑ "Colorado clinch spot in 2017 CONCACAF Champions League, joining Dallas, TFC". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
External links
- CONCACAF Champions League, CONCACAF.com