2021 CONCACAF League

The 2021 CONCACAF League (officially the 2021 Scotiabank CONCACAF League for sponsorship purposes) will be the 5th edition of the CONCACAF League, a football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.[1]

2021 CONCACAF League
2021 Scotiabank CONCACAF League
Tournament details
DatesTBC
Teams22 (from 10 or 11 associations)

The winners of the 2021 CONCACAF League and the next best five teams will qualify for the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League.[2]

Alajuelense are the title holders.

Qualification

A total of 22 teams participate in the CONCACAF League:

Therefore, teams from either 10 or 11 out of the 41 CONCACAF member associations may participate in the CONCACAF League.

North America

The one berth for the North American Zone (NAFU) is allocated to the Canadian Soccer Association through the previous year's Canadian Premier League, where the champions, decided by the Canadian Premier League Finals contested between the top two teams of the group stage, qualify.[3] They are the second Canadian representative included in CONCACAF competitions, besides the Canadian Championship champions which qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League.

Central America

The 18 berths for the Central American Football Union (UNCAF), which consists of seven member associations, are allocated as follows: three berths for each of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, two berths for Nicaragua, and one berth for Belize.

All of the leagues of Central America employ a split season with two tournaments in one season, so the following teams qualify for the CONCACAF League:

  • In the leagues of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama, both champions, and the runners-up with the better aggregate record (or any team which are runners-up of both tournaments), qualify. If there is any team which are finalists of both tournaments, the runners-up with the worse aggregate record qualify. If there are any two teams which are finalists of both tournaments, the semi-finalists with the best aggregate record qualify.
  • In the league of Nicaragua, both champions qualify. If there is any team which are champions of both tournaments, the runners-up with the better aggregate record (or any team which are runners-up of both tournaments) qualify.
  • In the league of Belize, the champions with the better aggregate record (or any team which are champions of both tournaments) qualify.

If teams from any Central American associations are excluded, they are replaced by teams from other Central American associations, with the associations chosen based on results from previous CONCACAF League and CONCACAF Champions League tournaments.[4]

Caribbean

The three berths for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), which consists of 31 member associations, are allocated via the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship and CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, the first-tier and second-tier subcontinental Caribbean club tournaments. Since 2018, the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship is open to teams from professional leagues, where they can qualify as champions or runners-up of their respective association's league in the previous season, while the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield is open to teams from non-professional leagues, where they can qualify as champions of their respective association's league in the previous season.[5]

Besides the champions of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship which qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League, the runners-up and third-placed team of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship, and the winners of a playoff between the fourth-placed team of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship and the champions of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, qualify for the CONCACAF League. For the champions of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield to be eligible for the playoff, they must comply with the minimum CONCACAF Club Licensing requirements for the CONCACAF League.[6]

Teams

The following 22 teams (from ten or eleven associations) qualify for the tournament.[2]

  • Ten teams enter in the round of 16: two each from Costa Rica, Honduras, and Panama, and one each from El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and the Caribbean.
  • Twelve teams enter in the preliminary round: two each from El Salvador, Guatemala, and the Caribbean, and one each from Canada, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, and Belize.
Qualified teams from North America (1 team: entering in preliminary round)
Association Team Entry round Qualifying method App (last) Previous best (last)
 Canada (1 PR berth) Forge FC Preliminary round 2020 Canadian Premier League champions 3rd (2020) Quarter-finals (2020)
Qualified teams from Central America (18 teams: 9 entering in round of 16, 9 entering in preliminary round)
Association Team Entry round Qualifying method App (last) Previous best (last)
 Costa Rica (3 berths: 2 R16 + 1 PR) Alajuelense Round of 16 2020 Apertura champions 3rd (2020) Champions (2020)
Round of 16 2021 Clausura champions
Preliminary round Runners-up with better 2020–21 aggregate record
 Honduras (3 berths: 2 R16 + 1 PR) Olimpia Round of 16 2020 Apertura champions 4th (2020) Champions (2017)
Round of 16 2021 Clausura champions
Preliminary round Runners-up with better 2020–21 aggregate record
 Panama (3 berths: 2 R16 + 1 PR) Independiente Round of 16 2020 Clausura champions 3rd (2020) Quarter-finals (2019)
Round of 16 2021 Apertura champions
Preliminary round Runners-up with better 2020–21 aggregate record
 El Salvador (3 berths: 1 R16 + 2 PR) Alianza Round of 16 or Preliminary round 2020 Apertura champions 4th (2020) Semi-finals (2019)
Round of 16 or Preliminary round 2021 Clausura champions
Preliminary round Runners-up with better 2020–21 aggregate record
 Guatemala (3 berths: 1 R16 + 2 PR) Guastatoya Round of 16 or Preliminary round 2020 Apertura champions
Round of 16 or Preliminary round 2021 Clausura champions
Preliminary round Runners-up with better 2020–21 aggregate record
 Nicaragua (2 berths: 1 R16 + 1 PR) Real Estelí Round of 16 or Preliminary round 2020 Apertura champions 4th (2020) Quarter-finals (2020)
Round of 16 or Preliminary round 2021 Clausura champions
 Belize (1 PR berth) Preliminary round Champions with better 2020–21 aggregate record
Qualified teams from Caribbean (3 teams: 1 entering in round of 16, 2 entering in preliminary round)
Association Team Entry round Qualifying method App (last) Previous best (last)
  TBD Round of 16 2021 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship runners-up
  TBD Preliminary round 2021 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship third place
  TBD Preliminary round 2021 Caribbean CONCACAF League playoff winners

Draw
Location of teams of the 2021 CONCACAF League
Caribbean Zone Central American Zone North American Zone
Teams in bold enter in the round of 16; Teams in italics may enter in the round of 16 or preliminary round

The draw determines each tie in the preliminary round (numbered 1 through 6) between a team from Pot 1 and a team from Pot 2, each containing six teams. A team from Pot 1 and a team from Pot 2 are drawn into each tie. Teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other in the preliminary round except for "wildcard" teams which replace a team from another association.

The draw also determines each tie in the round of 16 (numbered 1 through 8) between a team from Pot 3 and a team from Pot 4, each containing eight teams, with the six preliminary round winners, whose identity is not known at the time of the draw, in Pot 4. A team from Pot 3 and a team from Pot 4 are drawn into each tie.

The seeding of teams are based on the CONCACAF Club Index. The CONCACAF Club Index, instead of ranking each team, is based on the on-field performance of the teams that have occupied the respective qualifying slots in the previous five editions of the CONCACAF League and CONCACAF Champions League. To determine the total points awarded to a slot in any single edition of the CONCACAF League or CONCACAF Champions League, CONCACAF uses the following formula:

Points per Participation Win Draw Stage advanced Champions
CONCACAF Champions League (2016–17 – 2019) 4 3 1 1 2
CONCACAF League (2017 – 2020) 2 3 1 0.5 1

Teams qualify for the CONCACAF League based on criteria set by their association (e.g., tournament champions, runners-up, cup champions), resulting in an assigned slot (e.g., CRC1, CRC2) for each team.

The 22 teams are distributed in the pots as follows:

Teams in preliminary round draw
Pot Rank Slot 2016–17 CCL 2017 CL or
2018 CCL		 2018 CL or
2019 CCL		 2019 CL 2020 CL Total Team
Pot 1 1 CRC3 0 2 19.5 27 18 66.5
2 SLV3 0 8.5 6.5 16.5 2 33.5
3 HON3 0 2 21.5 3 6 32.5
4 SLV2 5 11.5 5 7.5 3 32 [SLV]
5 PAN3 0 11 15 2 3 31
6 CCC3 4 5 5.5 4 10.5 29
Pot 2 7 NCA2 0 9.5 2 5 3.5 20 [NCA]
8 CAN2 0 0 0 9.5 10 19.5 Forge FC
9 GUA3 0 0 0 12 4.5 16.5
10 CCC4 0 2 5 5.5 2 14.5
11 GUA2 6 0 0 3 3 12
12 BLZ1 4 2 2 2 2 12
Teams in round of 16 draw
Pot Rank Slot 2016–17 CCL 2017 CL or
2018 CCL		 2018 CL or
2019 CCL		 2019 CL 2020 CL Total Team
Pot 3 1 PAN1 20 8 12 5 2 47 [PAN]
2 HON1 11 5 4 16.5 10 46.5 [HON]
3 CRC1 8 5 7 7.5 12.5 40 [CRC]
4 PAN2 8 13 8.5 6.5 2 38 [PAN]
5 HON2 11 2 3 13 6.5 35.5 [HON]
6 SLV1 9 7 5 5 3 29 [SLV]
7 NCA1 6 5 5.5 3 8.5 28 [NCA]
8 CRC2 14 5 3 4 2 28 [CRC]
Pot 4 9 CCC2 5 2 5 5.5 2 19.5
10 GUA1 9 0 4 3 2 18
11 Winner preliminary round 1
12 Winner preliminary round 2
13 Winner preliminary round 3
14 Winner preliminary round 4
15 Winner preliminary round 5
16 Winner preliminary round 6
Notes
  1. ^ a b
    CRC Alajuelense will qualify as CRC1 if they are 2021 Clausura champions or champions with better 2020–21 aggregate record, otherwise they will qualify as CRC2.
  2. ^ a b
    HON Olimpia will qualify as HON1 if they are 2021 Clausura champions or champions with better 2020–21 aggregate record, otherwise they will qualify as HON2.
  3. ^ a b
    NCA Real Estelí will qualify as NCA1 if they are 2021 Clausura champions or champions with better 2020–21 aggregate record, otherwise they will qualify as NCA2.
  4. ^ a b
    PAN Independiente will qualify as PAN1 if they are 2021 Apertura champions or champions with better 2020–21 aggregate record, otherwise they will qualify as PAN2.
  5. ^ a b
    SLV Alianza will qualify as SLV1 if they are 2021 Clausura champions or champions with better 2020–21 aggregate record, otherwise they will qualify as SLV2.

Qualification to CONCACAF Champions League

Starting from the round of 16, teams are ranked based on their results (excluding preliminary round). Based on the ranking, the top six teams, i.e., champions, runners-up, both losing semi-finalists, and best two losing quarter-finalists, qualify for the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League.

See also

References
  1. "Details revealed for newly launched Scotiabank CONCACAF League". CONCACAF League. 8 May 2017.
  2. "Concacaf Announces Scotiabank Concacaf League Expansion". www.concacafleague.com. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  3. "A guide to the format for the 2019 season". Canadian Premier League. 25 April 2019.
  4. "Stage Set for Miami Draw for Second Edition of the Scotiabank Concacaf League". Scotiabank CONCACAF League. 18 May 2018.
  5. "CONCACAF Announces Expanded CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship for 2018". CONCACAF. 15 December 2017.
  6. "Dominican Republic Selected to Host Inaugural CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield". CONCACAF.com. 16 February 2018.
  7. "Concacaf Club Ranking 2020" (PDF). CONCACAF.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.