Concacaf revealed a significant expansion of theChampions League, the region’s most important tournament, and the inception of new regional club competitions inNorth America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
The reformatted Concachampions, starting in 2024, will be expanded to 27 teams and will include one more round. Meanwhile, each of the three regions will have a new tournament to definetheirown champion and also to provideberthsforthe Confederation’sultimatecup.
Here, we’ll break downwhat will be the changes to the Concacaf soccer ecosystem in an exciting decision to expandand boost the competitivenessacross all thearea.
Concacaf announces Concachampions expansion and new regional tournaments
The Concacaf Champions Leaguewill continue to be played in a direct elimination knockout stageformat but it will includeone more stage. 22clubs willbegin their path on Round One whilethe other five will receive a bye tothe Round of16.
Prior tothis new, expanded tournament, which will take place from 2024 onwards, three regional tournaments will be introduced in 2023. Here, check out how each of them will be played.
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North America
Jesus Godinez holding the coveted Concacaf Champions League trophy when Chivas were crowned in 2018.
Canadian, Mexican, and USA teams will make their way to the Concachampionsvia their respective leagues and Member Association Cups, in this case the Canadian Championship and the US Open Cup.
The news is the expansion of the Leagues Cup, where all 47 teams of Liga MX and MLS will compete in an annual, month-longtournament to start in 2023. During that month both leagues will pause their seasons. This is how the 18 North American sides will participate in the Concacaf Champions League:
Round One (15 North American teams): Five Liga MX sides, Four MLS sides, two Canadian Premier League sides, two Leagues Cup sides (runner-up and third-place team), the US Open Cup champion and Canadian Championship winner.
Round of 16 (3 North American sides): Liga MX champion, MLS champion, and Leagues Cup champion.
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Central America
Central American clubs will have a new way of qualifying to the Concacaf Champions League. They will do it via a new Central American Cupto which20 clubs will enter through their domestic leagues and a newUNCAF Cup.
The Central American Cup, however, willconsist of a Group Stage and a Knockout Round and will have six Concachampions berths at stake. This is how they’ll be given and how this teams will begin their campaign in the Confederation’s top competition:
Round One (5 Central American teams): Central American Cup runner-up, two semifinalists, and two play-in winners.
Round of 16 (1 Central American club): Central American Cup champion.
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Caribbean
Similarlyto Central America, Caribbean clubs will also have to play a new regional tournament to qualify for the Concacaf Champions League. The Caribbean Cupwill consist of 10 teams that will enter the competition through their respective leagues and a newCFU Cup.
This tournament will also include a group stage and a knockout stagewhere three Concachampions spots will be on the line. These three sides would be determined due to their results and they’ll begin their play in the Champions League like this:
Round One(2 Caribbean teams): Caribbean Cup runner-up and third-place finisher
Round of 16 (1 Caribbean team): Caribbean Cup winner.
