Concacaf unveils rebranded premier club competition, Concacaf Champions Cup
Concacaf announced on Tuesday that, beginning in 2024, its premier club competition will be known as the Concacaf Champions Cup.
The tournament, previously known as the Concacaf Champions League, will feature 27 teams in its new format, including two Canadian Premier League clubs: the winners of both the regular season and playoff titles (beginning with the 2023 champions, who will enter the 2024 tournament).
In the event of a CPL team winning both the regular season and playoff titles, the second spot will be awarded to the remaining CPL club that accumulated the most regular season points.
Those two CPL teams will be joined by the winner of the Canadian Championship, as well as clubs from across North and Central America — including at least five teams from Major League Soccer and six teams from Liga MX in Mexico, plus three sides from the combined Leagues Cup and the winner of the U.S. Open Cup.
The remaining nine spots will be filled by clubs from a pair of other regional tournaments, with six teams coming from the Concacaf Central American Cup and three from the Concacaf Caribbean Cup.
Beginning in 2024, the Concacaf Champions Cup will be a knockout tournament with five rounds — the first four being two-legged home-and-away ties, and the final being a single-elimination match for the title.
Of the 27 teams competing, 22 — including the three Canadian clubs that qualify — will enter in round one. Five sides (one each from MLS, Liga MX, Leagues Cup, and the Central American and Caribbean Championships) will be seeded and begin the competition in the round of 16.
The 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup is expected to follow a similar schedule to the prior edition of the Concacaf Champions League, being played roughly between February and June in the spring of 2024.
The most recent tournament finished this past Sunday night, when Mexican side Club Léon defeated MLS outfit Los Angeles FC 3-1 on aggregate to lift the trophy.
Prior to being renamed the Champions League about 15 years ago, Concacaf’s premier club tournament was actually named the Concacaf Champions Cup from its inception in 1962 through to 2008.
Since 1962, Mexican teams have won 38 titles, with CF Montréal (2015) and Toronto FC (2018) being the only Canadian sides to date to play in the final. In total, 30 different clubs from across the Concacaf region have been named champions.
“The Concacaf Champions Cup will take continental club football in our region to the next level,” said Concacaf president Victor Montagliani in a release. “It will elevate leagues and clubs across Concacaf and the new name for the competition, alongside this vibrant new brand, allows us to celebrate our rich history while looking ahead to a great future of international club football in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
“The new Concacaf club ecosystem will deliver more of those big rivalry matchups that we know footballers want to play in and that fans want to see. Clubs across the region will have to be at their very best to compete to win the Concacaf Champions Cup and to earn the right to represent the region in the revamped and expanded FIFA Club World Cup which begins in 2025.”
27 Clubs. 51 Matches. 1 Cup. The new Concacaf Champions Cup is here 🏆
— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) June 6, 2023
Read the full announcement 🔗 https://t.co/2aCKbvqEfX#ConcaChampions pic.twitter.com/KyzlN6HVwk
