annual continental football tournament for clubs in North America

Football tournament
The CONCACAF Champions League, known formally as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, [ 1 ] [ 2 ] is an annual continental club football rival organized by CONCACAF. The winner of the CONCACAF Champions League automatically qualifies for the quarter-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup. The competition has been completed 55 times through the 2020 consequence, with 57 champions due to a tripartite shared title in the 1978 competition.

The tournament presently uses a knockout format, though the tournament had a group stage prior to the 2018 tournament. Unlike its european and confederacy american counterparts, the winners of the CONCACAF Champions League does not mechanically qualify for the come season ‘s competition. [ 3 ] The competition was originally known as the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup when it was first base organized in 1962. The entitle has been won by 28 clubs, 13 of which have won the title more than once. mexican clubs have accumulated the highest count of victories, with 36 titles in entire. The irregular most successful league has been Costa Rica ‘s Primera División with six titles in entire. mexican side Club América are the most successful baseball club in the competition ‘s history with seven titles, followed by boyfriend Mexican-side Cruz Azul with six titles. The most successful non-Mexican club is Saprissa of Costa Rica with three titles. The only four teams to successfully defend the trophy are all mexican : América, Cruz Azul, Pachuca and Monterrey. The stream champions of the competition are Monterrey, who defeated América in the 2021 concluding .

rival format [edit ]

The tournament employs a 16-team knockout format and is played between February and May. Ten teams qualify mechanically based on domestic performance, along with the peak six teams ( champion, runner-up, two losing semi-finalists, and two best losing quarter-finalists ) of the CONCACAF League, played at the end of the previous calendar class. Each orotund of rival consists of a two-leg home-and-away series with the achiever determined by sum goals over both legs. If aggregate goals are adequate, the away goals rule is applied. If away goals are besides equal, the game is decided by an contiguous penalty shoot-out ; there are no overtime periods. [ 4 ] anterior to 2018, the tournament had two parts : a group stage held from August to October, and a hard phase held from March to May of the follow class. The group stage consisted of 24 teams playing in eight groups of three teams each, with each team playing the other two teams in its group twice. United States and Mexican sides could not be drawn into the like group. The winners of each of the eight groups advanced to the quarterfinals. Each phase of the hard rounds ( quarterfinals, semifinals, finals ) consisted of a two-leg home-and-away series with the winner determined by aggregate goal differential gear. [ 5 ] Seeding in the hard phase was determined by performance during the group phase. prior to the 2012–13 season, the contest had involved four groups of four, with one Mexican team and one U.S. team in each group. A preliminary round was used to reduce the number of teams from 24 to 16 .

history [edit ]

Champions ‘ Cup trophy gain by four hundred Olimpia in 1972 The competition was initially created as a possible measure to enter the confederacy american Copa Libertadores, a competition organized by CONMEBOL. Prior to 2008, the tournament was officially called the “ CONCACAF Champions ‘ Cup ”, but was normally referred to just as the “ Champions ‘ Cup ”. The rival has had several unlike formats over its life. From 1962 until 1995, the finalists, or clubs participating in a final examination round, would be decided by clubs who qualify via two separate brackets : a Caribbean Island qualifier and a Northern/Central american reservation competition. initially, only the champions of the north american leagues participated. In 1971, the runner-up of a few north american leagues began to join and the tournament began to be expanded, incorporating round-robin group phases and more teams. After the creation of the United States ‘ Major League Soccer, the rival became a neat hard competition from 1997 until it was revamped into a tournament with a group stage in 2008 .

Champions ‘ Cup Era ( 1962–2008 ) [edit ]

The contest ‘s early format, a knockout tournament called the Champions’ Cup, was played under a variety of formats. The last format, used from 2004 to 2008, had eight teams competing – four from the North American zone ( two from Mexico, two from the United States ), three from the Central American zone, and one from the Caribbean zone. Since 2005, the ace of the competition besides gained introduction into the FIFA Club World Cup, giving clubs an add incentive for a impregnable engagement and greater concern from fans. besides, the Champions ‘ Cup Runner-up would be one of the three CONCACAF invitees to the Copa Sudamericana .

Champions League Era ( 2008–2017 ) [edit ]

The CONCACAF Executive Committee at their 2006 November converge decided to “ act upon ” a proposal—first delineated in 2003 by then Head of special Projects Mel Brennan—at their following meet by the CONCACAF Secretariat to develop the CONCACAF Champions ’ Cup into a larger “ Champions League ” style event. The CONCACAF Executive Committee reported on 14 November 2007 some of the details. [ 6 ] The previous Champions ‘ Cup format was used as planned in March and April 2008. then, a newly expanded Champions League tournament was conducted starting in August 2008 and concluding in May 2009. The initial setup involved 24 teams and featured a preliminary Round contested by 16 teams to reduce the field to 16 teams, which were separated into four groups of four teams. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] After the Group Stage, the Championship Round are held from the Quarterfinal Round forth. Since 2012, the 24 teams have been divided into eight groups of three teams. The first placed teams qualify for the quarter finals. The draw finals, trailer truck finals and final examination are played over two legs .

tournament restructure ( 2018–2023 ) [edit ]

In December 2016, Manuel Quintanilla, president of the nicaraguan Football Federation, talk of a possible new format for the rival, [ 8 ] a statement that was late corroborated by Garth Lagerwey, the general director of Seattle Sounders FC. [ 9 ] On 23 January 2017, CONCACAF confirmed the fresh format beginning with the 2018 edition, eliminating the group stage which had been employed since the re-branding of the competition to the CONCACAF Champions League in 2008. [ 10 ] Under the raw CONCACAF competition platform, 31 clubs compete in CONCACAF competitions. 22 teams compete in a new tournament played from August to December, called the CONCACAF League. The CONCACAF League features 18 teams from Central America, three teams from the Caribbean and one team from North America. The champions and adjacent best five clubs gain to the CONCACAF Champions League, played between February and May of the following calendar year, joining nine teams from North America, five teams from Central America, and one team from the Caribbean. [ 10 ]

expansion ( from 2024 ) [edit ]

In February 2021, CONCACAF announced a major pass of the tournament which would have included 50 teams and a regional group stage. [ 11 ] Twenty teams from North America, twenty teams from Central America, and ten teams from the Caribbean would have been divided into groups of five teams where a total of 16 teams would advance to the knockout stage. [ 12 ] This format was abandoned and was never used. On 21 September 2021, CONCACAF announced an expansion of the tournament to begin in 2024. [ 13 ] Under the raw format, twenty-seven teams would take part in the Champions League ; twenty-two teams would enter the first round, with the winners to be joined by five teams in the round of 16. Teams may qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League through their domestic leagues or cups, or through their regional cup competitions : the Leagues Cup for teams from North America, a central american Cup for teams from Central America, and a Caribbean Cup for teams from the Caribbean .

qualification [edit ]

A full of sixteen teams participate in the CONCACAF Champions League : at least nine from the north american Zone ( from three associations ), and at least one team from the Caribbean Zone ( the champions of the Caribbean Club Championship ). [ 14 ] The remaining six berths goes to the top-six placed teams in the CONCACAF League, played between eighteen teams from the central American Zone, three from the Caribbean Zone and one from the north american Zone. At least two central american english Zone teams will qualify through the CONCACAF League. Nine from the North American Zone :

Four clubs from  Mexico
Four clubs from the  United States
One club from  Canada

One club from the Caribbean Zone :

One club, qualifying via the Caribbean Club Championship

Six clubs from the Central American, Caribbean, or North American Zones .

6 clubs, qualifying via the CONCACAF League

Clubs may be disqualified and replaced by a club from another association if the golf club does not have an available stadium that meets CONCACAF regulations for guard. If a club ‘s own stadium fails to meet the fit standards then it may find a suitable substitution stadium within its own country. however, if it is even determined that the club can not provide the adequate facilities then it runs the risk of being replaced .

north american zone [edit ]

nine-spot teams from the north american Football Union stipulate to the Champions League. Mexico and the United States are each allocated four berths, the most of any of CONCACAF ‘s member associations, while Canada is granted one berth in the tournament.

Read more: Sevilla FC

For Mexico, the winners and runner-up of the Liga MX Apertura and Clausura tournaments qualify for the Champions League. For the United States, three berths are allocated through the Major League Soccer ( MLS ) regular season and playoffs ( the MLS Cup winner, the Supporters ‘ Shield achiever, and the other regular season conference winner ) ; the fourth position is allocated to the winner of its domestic cup contest, the U.S. Open Cup. If a Canada-based team occupies any MLS-allocated moor, or any U.S-based team qualifies for the Champions League by more than one method acting, the Champions League topographic point is allocated to the U.S.-based team with the best MLS regular season record which has failed to otherwise qualify. The lone canadian moor is awarded to the winner of the Canadian Championship – Canada ‘s domestic cup rival. When Canada hosted the 2015 FIFA Women ‘s World Cup, the Canadian Championship was moved from April–May to April–August ( with no matches occurring between May and August ), overlapping with the originate of the Champions League. For the 2015–16 tournament only, the canadian moor into the tournament was given to the best canadian team in the MLS regular temper .

Caribbean Zone [edit ]

One team from the Caribbean Football Union qualifies directly to the Champions League. This berth goes to the winners of the Caribbean Club Championship. If the Caribbean modifier is precluded, they are supplanted by the runner-up of the Caribbean Club Championship .

CONCACAF League [edit ]

The final six berths are awarded to the top-six placed teams in CONCACAF League. Twenty two teams participate in this tournament, eighteen from the cardinal american Zone ( three berths each from Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, and El Salvador ; two from Nicaragua ; and one from Belize ), three from the Caribbean Zone ( the runner-up and third gear place team from the Caribbean Club Championship, and the winners of a playoff between the fourth-place team and the Caribbean Club Shield winners ), and one from Canada ( the Canadian Premier League representative ) .

stadium standards [edit ]

If a cabaret fails to meet the standards for its home stadium, the baseball club must find a suitable stadium in its own area, and if the baseball club fails to provide the adequate facilities, it runs the risk of being replaced by another team. [ 15 ] Real Esteli of Nicaragua failed stadium requirements and was replaced by another team for the 2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons. [ 16 ] Estadio Independencia in Nicaragua has since been renovated, including upgrades to stadium lighting, and nicaraguan teams now participate. [ 17 ] The qualifying team from Belize has failed stadium requirements and has been replaced by another team in each season from 2009–10 through 2014–15. If one or more of the five central american club is precluded, it will be supplanted by a club from the best central American league, based on results from the current Champions League. If the Caribbean modifier is precluded, they are supplanted by the runner-up of the CFU Club Championship .

attendance records [edit ]

During Champions League era :
The CONCACAF Champions League has several corporate sponsors : Scotiabank ( which has been a title sponsor of the Champions League since 2014–15 ), Miller Lite, MoneyGram, Maxxis Tires, and Nike. [ 14 ] [ 23 ] The sponsors ‘ names appear on the boards around the perimeter of the sphere, and boards for pre-game and post-game interviews and imperativeness conferences. [ 14 ] Nike is besides the official provider of game balls and referee uniforms .

Broadcasters [edit ]

CONCACAF [edit ]

Outside CONCACAF [edit ]

All 30 matches are streamed through both CONCACAF ‘s official Facebook page and Youtube channel with highlights available in all territories. [ 26 ] *Live pour coverage on Facebook and Youtube is not available in Balkans .

Finals [edit ]

Champions League era ( 2008–present ) [edit ]

  1. a b c d e Championship won due to withdrawal and/or disqualification of all early teams .
  2. a b c d e No final match was held ; the championship was decided by a concluding cycle .
  3. ^ Universidad de Guadalajara, Comunicaciones and Defence Force were all declared joint winners after the 1978 final tournament was cancelled due to administrative problems and disagreements on match dates .

Records and statistics [edit ]

overall performances by golf club [edit ]

†Title shared.

  • When sorted by years won or lost, the table is sorted by the year of each team’s most recent win or loss.

overall performances by country [edit ]

  • *Including one title shared.

Champions League [edit ]

Performances by club [edit ]

Performances by nation [edit ]

Performances in finals by nation

Nation

Titles

Runners-up

Total

 Mexico

13

9

22

 Canada

0

2

2

 United States

0

2

2

Best results by country [edit ]

Results by league [edit ]

Results are listed in the Wins–Losses–Draws format. Numbers in parentheses are average points per game (3 for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss).
Results include matches from preliminary rounds, group play, and knockout play.
* Penalty shoot-out considered a separate event from the match which preceded it.

Awards [edit ]

Notes
  1. ^ Award was known as the “ Bright Future Award ” for 2014–15 season .

See besides [edit ]

References [edit ]