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CONCACAF Champions League
File:CONCACAF CL logo.png
Founded 1962 (Champions Cup)
2008 (Champions League)
Region North America,
Central America, Caribbean
(CONCACAF)
Number of teams 24
Current champions Mexico Monterrey (2nd title)
Most successful club(s) Mexico Cruz Azul
Mexico Club América
(5 titles each)
Website CONCACAF Champions League
File:Soccerball current event.svg 2012–13 Champions League

The CONCACAF Champions League (Spanish: Concacaf Liga Campeones; French: Ligue des champions de la CONCACAF) is the annual international club football championship for teams from the CONCACAF region (North America, Central America, and the Caribbean). The winner of the CONCACAF Champions League qualifies for the FIFA Club World Cup.

Prior to 2008, the top-level competition for CONCACAF club teams was the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, sometimes called simply the Champions' Cup. The tournament was played in a variety of formats over the years. In 2008, CONCACAF announced a change in both name and format, inviting twenty-four teams to participate in a preliminary round, group stage, and knockout tournament called the CONCACAF Champions' League.

Between 2008–09 and 2011–12, the tournament was played as a twenty-four team tournament with a preliminary round, followed by a sixteen-team group stage (four groups of four), followed by an eight-team home-and-away single-elimination tournament. In early 2012, CONCACAF announced a new format for the 2012–2013 CONCACAF Champions' League. Under the new format, the preliminary round would be eliminated, and group play would consist of eight groups of three teams each, with each group winner advancing to the quarterfinals.

The title has been won by 27 different clubs, 11 of which have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are Cruz Azul and América, who have won the competition five times each. Mexico's Primera División is, by far, the most successful league, amassing 27 wins in the tournament. Until 2011, when Major League Soccer team Real Salt Lake reached the finals, each CONCACAF Champions League final had been an all-Mexican affair. The Mexican Primera División also holds the record for most appearances in the final of both the Champions Cup and Champions League as well as the highest number of winning clubs.

In the Champions' Cup era, the second most successful league has been Costa Rica's Primera División, while in the Champions League era, the second most successful league has been the United States and Canada's Major League Soccer.

History[]

Champions' Cup era (1962–2008)[]

File:CONCACAF CC logo.png

Champions' Cup logo

The competition's former format, a knockout tournament called the Champions' Cup, was played under a variety of formats. The last format, used from 2004 to 2008, 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.

Champions League era (2008–present)[]

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 current format features 24 teams in total.

From the North American Zone:

4 clubs from Mexico Mexico
4 clubs from the United States United States
1 club from Canada Canada

From the Central American Zone:

2 clubs from Costa Rica Costa Rica
2 clubs from El Salvador El Salvador
2 clubs from Guatemala Guatemala
2 clubs from Honduras Honduras
2 clubs from Panama Panama
1 club from Nicaragua Nicaragua
1 club from Belize Belize

From the Caribbean Zone:

3 clubs, qualifying via the CFU Club Championship.[3]

The four teams qualifying from the United States are the two MLS Cup finalists, the winner of the MLS Supporters' Shield (awarded to the team with the best regular season record), and the winner of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Should the same team qualify multiple times and/or should a Canadian team occupy one or more of the MLS qualifying places, then the American MLS team(s) with the best regular season records not otherwise qualified will be entered.

The team qualifying from Canada is the winner of the Amway Canadian Championship.

Stadium standards[]

If a club fails to meet the standards for its home stadium (all-seater 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[]

New for the 2012-13 format, all 24 teams in the event will be drawn straight into the group stage. Each of the eight groups will have three teams. United States and Mexican sides cannot be drawn into the same group. Each group winner will then advance to the quarterfinals, which proceed unchanged from previous versions of the event.

Finals[]

Year CONCACAF Champions Cup era
Winner Score Runner-up
1962
Details
Guadalajara Mexico 1 – 0 / 5 – 0
Aggregate 6 – 0
Guatemala Comunicaciones
1963
Details
Haïtien Haiti (2) Mexico Guadalajara
1967
Details
Alianza El Salvador 1 – 2 / 3 – 0
Aggregate 4 – 2
Netherlands Antilles Jong Colombia
1968
Details
Deportivo Toluca Mexico (2)
1969
Details
Cruz Azul Mexico 0 – 0 / 1 – 0
Aggregate 1 – 0
Guatemala Comunicaciones
1970
Details
Cruz Azul Mexico (2)
1971
Details
Cruz Azul Mexico (1) Costa Rica Alajuelense
1972
Details
Olimpia Honduras 0 – 0 / 2 – 0
Aggregate 2 – 0
Suriname (Kingdom of the Netherlands) Robinhood
1973
Details
Transvaal Suriname (Kingdom of the Netherlands) (2)
1974
Details
Municipal Guatemala 2 – 1 / 2 – 1
Aggregate 4 – 2
Suriname (Kingdom of the Netherlands) Transvaal
1975
Details
Atlético Español Mexico 2 – 0 / 1 – 1
Aggregate 3 – 1
Suriname Transvaal
1976
Details
Águila El Salvador 6 – 1 / 2 – 1
Aggregate 8 – 2
Suriname Robinhood
1977
Details
América Mexico 1 – 0 / 0 – 0
Aggregate 1 – 0
Suriname Robinhood
1978
Details
Universidad de Guadalajara Mexico
Comunicaciones Guatemala
Defence Force Trinidad and Tobago
(3)
1979
Details
FAS El Salvador 1 – 0 / 8 – 0
Aggregate 9 – 0
Netherlands Antilles Jong Colombia
1980
Details
UNAM Mexico (1) Honduras Universidad
1981
Details
Transvaal Suriname 1 – 0 / 1 – 1
Aggregate 2 – 1
El Salvador Atlético Marte
1982
Details
UNAM Mexico 0 – 0 / 3 – 2
Aggregate 3 – 2
Suriname Robinhood
1983
Details
Atlante Mexico 1 – 1 / 5 – 0
Aggregate 6 – 1
Suriname Robinhood
1984
Details
Violette Haiti (2)
1985
Details
Defence Force Trinidad and Tobago 2 – 0 / 0 – 1
Aggregate 2 – 1
Honduras Olimpia
1986
Details
Alajuelense Costa Rica 4 – 1 / 1 – 1
Aggregate 5 – 2
Suriname Transvaal
1987
Details
América Mexico 1 – 1 / 2 – 0
Aggregate 3 – 1
Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force
1988
Details
Olimpia Honduras 2 – 0 / 2 – 0
Aggregate 4 – 0
Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force
1989
Details
UNAM Mexico 1 – 1 / 3 – 1
Aggregate 4 – 2
Cuba FC Pinar del Río
1990
Details
América Mexico 2 – 2 / 6 – 0
Aggregate 8 – 2
CubaFC Pinar del Río
1991
Details
Puebla Mexico 3 – 1 / 1 – 1
Aggregate 4 – 2
Trinidad and Tobago Police FC
1992
Details
América Mexico 1 – 0 Costa Rica Alajuelense
1993
Details
Saprissa Costa Rica (1) Mexico León
1994
Details
Cartaginés Costa Rica 3 – 2 Mexico Atlante
1995
Details
Saprissa Costa Rica (1) Guatemala Municipal
1996
Details
Cruz Azul Mexico (1) Mexico Necaxa
1997
Details
Cruz Azul Mexico 5 – 3 United States Los Angeles Galaxy
1998
Details
D.C. United United States 1 – 0 Mexico Deportivo Toluca
1999
Details
Necaxa Mexico 2 – 1 Costa Rica Alajuelense
2000
Details
Los Angeles Galaxy United States 3 – 2 Honduras Olimpia
2002
Details
Pachuca Mexico 1 – 0 Mexico Monarcas Morelia
2003
Details
Deportivo Toluca Mexico 3 – 3 / 2 – 1
Aggregate 5 – 4
Mexico Monarcas Morelia
2004
Details
Alajuelense Costa Rica 1 – 1 / 4 – 0
Aggregate 5 – 1
Costa Rica Saprissa
2005
Details
Saprissa Costa Rica 2 – 0 / 1 – 2
Aggregate 3 – 2
Mexico UNAM
2006
Details
América Mexico 0 – 0 / 2 – 1
Aggregate 2 – 1
Mexico Deportivo Toluca
2007
Details
Pachuca Mexico 2 – 2 / 0 – 0
Aggregate 2 – 2
7–6p
Mexico Guadalajara
2008
Details
Pachuca Mexico 1 – 1 / 2 – 1
Aggregate 3 – 2
Costa Rica Saprissa
Season CONCACAF Champions League era
Winner Score Runner-up
2008-09 Atlante Mexico 2 – 0 / 0 – 0
Aggregate 2 – 0
Mexico Cruz Azul
2009-10 Pachuca Mexico 1 – 2 / 1 – 0
Aggregate 2 – 2
Mexico Cruz Azul
2010-11 Monterrey Mexico 2 – 2 / 1 – 0
Aggregate 3 – 2
United States Real Salt Lake
2011-12 Monterrey Mexico 2 – 0 / 1 – 2
Aggregate 3 – 2
Mexico Santos Laguna
2012-13 Tournament in progress
2013-14 Qualification 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[]

Main article: CONCACAF Champions' Cup and Champions League records and statistics

Top-ten clubs[]

Rank Team Wins Runners-up Years won Years runner-up
1 Mexico Cruz Azul 5 2 1969, 1970, 1971, 1996, 1997 2009, 2010
2 Mexico América 5 0 1977, 1987, 1990, 1992, 2006
3 Mexico Pachuca 4 0 2002, 2007, 2008, 2010
4 Costa Rica Saprissa 3 2 1993, 1995, 2005 2004, 2008
5 Mexico UNAM 3 1 1980, 1982, 1989 2005
6 Suriname Transvaal 2 3 1973, 1981 1974, 1975, 1986
Costa Rica Alajuelense 2 3 1986, 2004 1971, 1992, 1999
8 Mexico Toluca 2 2 1968, 2003 1998, 2006
Honduras Olimpia 2 2 1972, 1988 1985, 2000
Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force 2 2 1978, 1985 1987, 1988

Top-ten countries[]

Rank Country Winner Runner-up Winners Runners-up
1 File:Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico 28 13 Cruz Azul (5), América (5), Pachuca (4), UNAM (3), Toluca (2), Atlante (2), Monterrey (2), Guadalajara (1), Necaxa (1), Puebla (1), Universidad de Guadalajara (1), Español (1) Guadalajara (2), Cruz Azul (2), Deportivo Toluca (2), Monarcas Morelia (2), UNAM (1), Necaxa (1), Atlante (1), León (1), Santos (1)
2 File:Flag of Costa Rica.svg Costa Rica 6 5 Saprissa (3), Alajuelense (2), Cartaginés (1) Alajuelense (3), Saprissa (2)
3 File:Flag of El Salvador.svg El Salvador 3 1 Alianza (1), Águila (1), FAS (1) Atlético Marte (1)
4 File:Flag of Suriname.svg Suriname 2 8 Transvaal (2) Robinhood (5), Transvaal (3)
5 File:Flag of Guatemala.svg Guatemala 2 3 Municipal (1), Comunicaciones (1) Comunicaciones (2), Municipal (1)
File:Flag of Honduras.svg Honduras 2 3 Olimpia (2) Olimpia (2), Universidad (1)
File:Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg Trinidad and Tobago 2 3 Defence Force (2) Defence Force (2), Police FC (1)
8 File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 2 2 D.C. United (1), Los Angeles Galaxy (1) Los Angeles Galaxy (1), Real Salt Lake (1)
9 File:Flag of Haiti.svg Haiti 2 0 Haïtien (1), Violette (1)
10 File:Flag of Cuba.svg Cuba 0 2 Pinar del Río (2)
File:Flag of Curaçao.svg Curaçao 0 2 Jong Colombia (2)

Top countries (Champions League era: 2008-present)[]

Rank Country Winner Runner-up Semi-finalist Winners Runners-up Semi-finalists
1 File:Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico 4 3 5 Monterrey (2012, 2011),
Pachuca (2010), Atlante (2009)
Cruz Azul (2010, 2009), Santos (2012) UNAM (2012, 2010), Cruz Azul (2011), Toluca (2010), Santos (2009)
2 File:Flag of the United States.svg United States 0 1 0 Real Salt Lake (2011)
3 File:Flag of Canada.svg Canada 0 0 1 Toronto FC (2012)
4 File:Flag of Costa Rica.svg Costa Rica 0 0 1 C.D. Saprissa (2011)

See also[]

  • Interamerican Cup
  • CONCACAF Giants Cup
  • CONCACAF Cup Winners' Cup
  • North American SuperLiga

References[]

External links[]


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