CONCACAF Champions League
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| Founded | 1962 (2008 in its current format) |
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| Region | North America, Central America, Caribbean (CONCACAF) |
| Number of teams | 24 |
| Current champions |  Pachuca (4th title) |
| Most successful club | Cruz Azul América (5 titles each) |
| Website | CONCACAF Champions League |
 2010–11 Champions League |
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The CONCACAF Champions League is the annual international club football championship for teams from the CONCACAF region (North America, Central America, and the Caribbean). The competition is open to the leading teams in the region and replaced the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, which ran from 1962 to 2008. The winner earns a berth in the following year's FIFA Club World Cup, which pits each continental confederation's champion against the others annually.
Contents |
History
The competition's former format, a knockout tournament called the Champions' Cup, had eight teams competing - four from the North American zone (two from Mexico, two from the United States/Canada), three from the Central American zone, and one from the Caribbean zone. Since 2005, the champion of the competition also gained entry into the FIFA Club World Cup, giving clubs an added incentive for a strong participation and greater interest from fans. Also the Champions' Cup Runner-up would be one of the three CONCACAF invitees to the Copa Sudamericana.
The CONCACAF Executive Committee at their 2006 November meeting decided to "act upon" a proposal at their next meeting by the CONCACAF Secretariat to develop the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup into a larger “Champions League” style event. The CONCACAF Executive Committee reported on November 14, 2007 some of the details.[1] The previous Champions' Cup format was used as planned in the Spring of 2008. Then, a newly expanded Champions League tournament was conducted starting in August 2008 and concluding in May 2009. The setup involves 24 teams initially and features a Preliminary Round contested by some of the teams to reduce the field to 16 teams, which are separated into 4 groups of four teams.[1][2] After the Group Stage, the Championship Round are held from the Quarterfinal Round onward.
Qualifying
The new format will feature 24 teams in total.
From the North American Zone:
- 4 clubs from Mexico
- 4 clubs from the
United States - 1 club from
Canada
From the Central American Zone:
- 2 clubs from
Costa Rica - 2 clubs from
El Salvador - 2 clubs from
Guatemala - 2 clubs from
Honduras - 2 clubs from
Panama - 1 club from
Nicaragua - 1 club from
Belize
From the Caribbean Zone:
- 3 clubs, qualifying via the CFU Club Championship[3].
Stadium standards
If a club fails to meet the standards for its home stadium, this club must find a suitable stadium in its own country. If said club fails to provide the adequate facilities, it will run the risk of being replaced. [4]
- Central America: If one or more of the twelve Central American clubs is precluded, it will be supplanted by a club from the best Central American league, based on results from the current Champions League.
- Caribbean: If any Caribbean club is precluded, it will be supplanted by the club who finished 4th in the CFU Club Championship.
Format
There will be a two-legged Preliminary Round for 16 clubs, with the eight winners advancing to the Group Stage. The other eight teams (two from the United States, two from Mexico, and one each from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) will be seeded directly into the Group Stage. The winners of the Preliminary Round and the seeded clubs will play in the Group Stage in four groups of four, with each team playing the others in its group twice, both home and away. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Championship Round, which will consist of home-and-away elimination. The Final Round, in late April, will also be two-legged, home-and-away. In contrast to the Champions' Cup, the away goals rule will be used in the Champions League, but will not apply after a tie has gone into extra time.
Finals
| Year | CONCACAF Champions Cup era Final |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Score | Runner-up | |
| 1962 Details |
Guadalajara .svg.png){kind=small} |
1 - 0 / 5 - 2 Aggregate 6 - 2 |
C.S.D. Comunicaciones |
| 1963 Details |
Haïtien .svg.png){kind=small} |
(2) | Guadalajara |
| 1967 Details |
Alianza |
1 - 2 / 3 - 0 Aggregate 4 - 2 |
.svg.png){kind=small} CRKSV Jong Colombia |
| 1968 Details |
Deportivo Toluca |
(2) |  Transvaal Aurora |
| 1969 Details |
Cruz Azul |
0 - 0 / 1 - 0 Aggregate 1 - 0 |
C.S.D. Comunicaciones |
| 1970 Details |
Cruz Azul |
(2) | Saprissa Transvaal |
| 1971 Details |
Cruz Azul |
(1) | Alajuelense |
| 1972 Details |
Olimpia |
0 - 0 / 2 - 0 Aggregate 2 - 0 |
Robinhood |
| 1973 Details |
Transvaal |
(2) | Saprissa Alajuelense |
| 1974 Details |
Municipal |
2 - 1 / 2 - 1 Aggregate 4 - 2 |
Transvaal |
| 1975 Details |
Atlético Español |
2 - 0 / 1 - 1 Aggregate 3 - 1 |
 Transvaal |
| 1976 Details |
Águila |
6 - 1 / 2 - 1 Aggregate 8 - 2 |
Robinhood |
| 1977 Details |
América |
1 - 0 / 0 - 0 Aggregate 1 - 0 |
Robinhood |
| 1978 Details |
Universidad de Guadalajara Comunicaciones Defence Force  |
(3) | |
| 1979 Details |
FAS |
1 - 0 / 8 - 0 Aggregate 9 - 0 |
CRKSV Jong Colombia |
| 1980 Details |
UNAM |
(1) | Universidad |
| 1981 Details |
Transvaal |
1 - 0 / 1 - 1 Aggregate 2 - 1 |
Atlético Marte |
| 1982 Details |
UNAM |
0 - 0 / 3 - 2 Aggregate 3 - 2 |
Robinhood |
| 1983 Details |
Atlante |
1 - 1 / 5 - 0 Aggregate 6 - 1 |
Robinhood |
| 1984 Details |
Violette .svg.png){kind=small} |
(2) | New York Pancyprian-Freedoms Guadalajara |
| 1985 Details |
Defence Force |
2 - 0 / 0 - 1 Aggregate 2 - 1 |
Olimpia |
| 1986 Details |
Alajuelense |
4 - 1 / 1 - 1 Aggregate 5 - 2 |
Transvaal |
| 1987 Details |
América |
1 - 1 / 2 - 0 Aggregate 3 - 1 |
Defence Force |
| 1988 Details |
Olimpia |
2 - 0 / 2 - 0 Aggregate 4 - 0 |
Defence Force |
| 1989 Details |
UNAM |
1 - 1 / 3 - 1 Aggregate 4 - 2 |
 FC Pinar del Río |
| 1990 Details |
América |
2 - 2 / 6 - 0 Aggregate 8 - 2 |
FC Pinar del Río |
| 1991 Details |
Puebla |
3 - 1 / 1 - 1 Aggregate 4 - 2 |
Police FC |
| 1992 Details |
América |
1 - 0 | Alajuelense |
| 1993 Details |
Saprissa |
(1) | Léon |
| 1994 Details |
Cartaginés |
3 - 2 | Atlante |
| 1995 Details |
Saprissa |
(1) | Municipal |
| 1996 Details |
Cruz Azul |
(1) | Necaxa |
| 1997 Details |
Cruz Azul |
5 - 3 | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| 1998 Details |
D.C. United |
1 - 0 | Deportivo Toluca |
| 1999 Details |
Necaxa |
2 - 1 | Alajuelense |
| 2000 Details |
Los Angeles Galaxy |
3 - 2 | Olimpia |
| 2002 Details |
Pachuca |
1 - 0 | Monarcas Morelia |
| 2003 Details |
Deportivo Toluca |
3 - 3 / 2 - 1 Aggregate 5 - 4 |
Monarcas Morelia |
| 2004 Details |
Alajuelense |
1 - 1 / 4 - 0 Aggregate 5 - 1 |
Saprissa |
| 2005 Details |
Saprissa |
2 - 0 / 1 - 2 Aggregate 3 - 2 |
UNAM |
| 2006 Details |
América |
0 - 0 / 2 - 1 Aggregate 2 - 1 |
Deportivo Toluca |
| 2007 Details |
Pachuca |
2 - 2 / 0 - 0 Aggregate 2 - 2 7-6 pens |
Guadalajara |
| 2008 Details |
Pachuca |
1 - 1 / 2 - 1 Aggregate 3 - 2 |
Saprissa |
| Year | CONCACAF Champions League era Final |
||
| Winner | Score | Runner-up | |
| 2008-09 Details |
Atlante |
2 - 0 / 0 - 0 Aggregate 2 - 0 |
Cruz Azul |
| 2009-10 Details |
Pachuca |
1 - 2 / 1 - 0 Aggregate 2 - 2 |
Cruz Azul |
| 2010-11 Details |
In progress | ||
1 No final match was held; the championship was decided by a final round.
2 Championship won due to withdrawal and/or disqualification of all other teams.
3 Universidad de Guadalajara, Comunicaciones and Defence Force were all declared joint winners after the final tournament was cancelled due to administrative problems and disagreements on match dates.
Records and statistics
Top-ten clubs
| Rank | Team | Wins | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cruz Azul |
5 | 2 | 1969, 1970, 1971, 1996, 1997 | 2009, 2010 |
| 2 | América |
5 | 0 | 1977, 1987, 1990, 1992, 2006 | |
| 3 | Pachuca |
4 | 0 | 2002, 2007, 2008, 2010 | |
| 4 | Saprissa |
3 | 4 | 1993, 1995, 2005 | 1970, 1973, 2004, 2008 |
| 5 | UNAM |
3 | 1 | 1980, 1982, 1989 | 2005 |
| 6 | Transvaal |
2 | 4 | 1973, 1981 | 1968, 1974, 1975, 1986 |
| Alajuelense |
2 | 4 | 1986, 2004 | 1971, 1973, 1992, 1999 | |
| 8 | Deportivo Toluca |
2 | 2 | 1968, 2003 | 1998, 2006 |
| Olimpia |
2 | 2 | 1972, 1988 | 1985, 2000 | |
| Defence Force |
2 | 2 | 1978, 1985 | 1987, 1988 |
Top-ten nations
| Rank | Nation | Winner | Runner-up | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico |
27 | 13 | Cruz Azul (5), América (5), Pachuca (4), UNAM (3), Deportivo Toluca (2), Atlante (2), Guadalajara (1), Necaxa (2), Puebla (1), Universidad de Guadalajara (1), Espanol (1) | Guadalajara (3), Cruz Azul (2), Deportivo Toluca (2), Monarcas Morelia (2), UNAM (1), Necaxa (1), Atlante (1), León (1) |
| 2 | Costa Rica |
6 | 8 | Saprissa (3), Alajuelense (2), Cartaginés (1) | Alajuelense (4), Saprissa (4) |
| 3 | El Salvador |
3 | 1 | Alianza (1), Águila (1), FAS (1) | Atlético Marte (1) |
| 4 | Suriname |
2 | 10 | Transvaal (2) | Transvaal (5), Robinhood (5) |
| 5 | Guatemala |
2 | 4 | Municipal (1), Comunicaciones (1) | Comunicaciones (2), Municipal, Aurora (1) |
| 6 | Honduras |
2 | 3 | Olimpia (2) | Olimpia (2), Universidad (1) |
| Trinidad and Tobago |
2 | 3 | Defence Force (2) | Defence Force (2), Police FC (1) | |
| 8 | United States |
2 | 2 | D.C. United (1), Los Angeles Galaxy (1) | Los Angeles Galaxy (1), New York Pancyprian-Freedoms (1) |
| 9 |  Haiti |
2 | 0 | Haïtien (1), Violette (1) | |
| 10 | Cuba |
0 | 2 | Pinar del Río (2) | |
 Netherlands Antilles |
0 | 2 | Jong Colombia (2) |
See also
- Interamerican Cup
- CONCACAF Giants Cup
- CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup
- North American SuperLiga
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 [1]
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ "Qualifying Format Unveiled for 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League". CONCACAF Official site. 2008-05-14. http://www.concacaf.com/view_article.aspx?id=4171. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
- ↑ "CONCACAF Executive Committee tightens stadium standards for next year’s Champions League". CONCACAF Official site. 2008-11-07. http://www.concacaf.com/view_article.aspx?id=4514. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
External links
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