The CONCACAF Champions Cup is an annual continental soccer tournament. The competition is contested by teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Participating teams in the tournament compete for bragging rights as well as the chance to compete at the biggest of all stages, the FIFA Club World Cup. See also the Gold Cup and Nations League.
A Brief History of the CONCACAF Champions Cup
The CONCACAF Champions Cup has been running for 62 years now having been founded in 1962. Over the course of its history, the CONCACAF Champions League has gone through various formats and adjustments. The biggest and most significant changes which now reflect the current version of the tournament came in 2008. At this time, a proposal was forwarded by the CONCACAF Secretariat to turn the then CONCACAF Champions Cup into a larger Champions League. The proposal was inspired by the emergence of the Major League Soccer (MLS) in the US.
The proposal was accepted and the CONCACAF Champions League came into existence. At the start, 16 teams contested in the tournament. Of these 16, eight teams qualified directly to the group stage while eight qualified via playing the preliminary round matches. The preliminary round matches were played in a two-legged home and away series with goals aggregated to determine the winner.
The top two teams from the group stage would proceed to the knockout rounds where they would play two-legged ties up until the Final – if they are successful along the way. There was once again a major rebranding in 2018 after a proposal from the president of the Nicaragua Football Federation, Manuel Quintanilla. Quintanilla’s proposal was accepted and up to this day, his proposal is currently in use.
CONCACAF Champions Cup Format
The current CONCACAF Champions League format was the one proposed by Manuel Quintanilla. The current format does not have a group stage. Rather, a secondary league called the CONCACAF League is played from August to December. The winner of the CONCACAF League qualifies for the next edition of the CONCACAF Champions League. The winning team will be joined by 9 North American teams, 5 Central American teams and the Caribbean Club Championship winner. The Champions League has 4 rounds which consist of the Round of 16, Quarter Finals, Semi Finals and a Final. Matches are played on a two-legged home and away-basis with the away goals rule system.
For the 2024 edition, the CONCACAF Champions League will see further adjustments. The tournament will retain the all-knockout format but will be expanded to 27 teams and a five-round system. The 27 participating teams will consist of the following:
- 6 Central America Cup clubs
- 6 Liga MX clubs
- 5 MLS clubs
- 3 League Cup clubs
- 3 Caribbean Cup clubs
- 2 Canadian Premier League Clubs
- 1 U.S. Open Cup winner
- 1 Canadian Championship winner
Of the 27 teams, 22 will start playing in Round One while 5 will receive byes to enter the tournament at the Round of 16 stage. The 5 clubs that receive byes are the winners of the MLS Cup, Liga MX, Leagues Cup, Central American Cup and Caribbean Cup. Owing to the new format, the CONCACAF Champions League was rebranded back to the CONCACAF Champions Cup on 6 June 2023.
CONCACAF Champions Cup Schedule
The CONCACAF Champions Cup is played in a 3-month period. Normally, the dates start from the onset of March to the first week of June. Matches are played at the home team of the paired teams. The host stadium should meet the minimum stadium requirements for a CONCACAF Champions Cup fixture to be fulfilled. If not, then the home team should find a suitable stadium in its own country. Failure to do this puts the home team at risk of being eliminated and replaced by another team.
CONCACAF Champions Cup Prizes
The winners of the CONCACAF Champions Cup get the honour of being branded the best team in North and Central America as well as the Caribbean. Starting in 2024 after the rebranding of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the winners will walk away with a whopping US$5,000,000 in prize money as well as other financial distributions.
In addition, the winners also qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup where further financial rewards await.
Top Teams in the CONCACAF Champions Cup
Mexican teams have dominated the CONCACAF Champions Cup. America and Cruz Azul all hold the proud record of having won the highest number of trophies (5 each). UNAM and Pachuca have also been successful having won 3 titles each. Other non-Mexican teams that have claimed at least one CONCACAF Champions Cup titles include Saprissa, Transvaal, Alajuelense, Defence Force, Olimpia, Comunicaciones, Municipal, LA Galaxy, Racing, Alianza, Aguila, Violette, Puebla, Cartagines, and DC United.
CONCACAF Champions Cup Interesting Facts
- Since the CONCACAF Champions League was founded, the finals have only ever been contested by clubs from Mexico, United States or Canada
- Mexican clubs won the first 14 finals in a row
- Of the 28 teams that have won the CONCACAF Champions Cup, 13 of them have won more than one title
- Winners of the CONCACAF Champions Cup do not qualify automatically for the following season’s competition
- The tournament was founded as the CONCACAF Champions Cup and was rebranded to the CONCACAF Champions League but has since been rebranded once more and has reverted to being the CONCACAF Champions Cup.