CONCACAF Champions League format to be unveiled someday

[SwissGCZ]

...at the the XXV CONCACAF Ordinary Congress on 12 May 2007 in Toronto, Ontario (Canada) (http://www.concacaf.com/view_article.asp?id=3757)

Finally, the Committee also approved the proposal from the CONCACAF Secretariat to launch a CONCACAF Champions League starting in 2009. The new, CONCACAF Champions League, including group play, will become CONCACAF’s qualifying event for the annual FIFA Club World Cup. The complete format for the CONCACAF Champions League will be disclosed at the XXV CONCACAF Ordinary Congress in May.
So we will find out in about a week. Has this format been leaked anywhere?

[Eliezar]

Unless the format comes with additional advertising and revenue, this will be likely more games than is warranted.

I'll watch some of it no matter what the format is though.

[SwissGCZ]

What I wonder is if they will actually expand the field or simply create two groups of four. Expanding the field likely means asking more MFL teams to miss out on Libertadores. I'm also interested in how they will fit this into the calendar, taking into consideration UNCAF and CFU qualifying. And last but not least, will Canada have its place in all of this?

[MasterShake29]

One would hope Canada would have a place in it, being that the announcement is being made in Canada.

[Eliezar]

One would hope Canada would have a place in it, being that the announcement is being made in Canada.

I don't think that's why the announcement is coming from Canada. Isn't there something else that is going on there?

And why would Canada get a team in? Toronto should qualify through MLS. The USL teams? Dunno, but there is not a league Canada as far as I know.

[Kibby]

I don't think that's why the announcement is coming from Canada. Isn't there something else that is going on there?

And why would Canada get a team in? Toronto should qualify through MLS. The USL teams? Dunno, but there is not a league Canada as far as I know.

IS there confirmation from USSF soccer it would allow Toronto to have one of its spots? In the end afterall, they are USSFs to spend not MLSs.

[SwissGCZ]

Toronto should qualify through MLS.
I disagree.

A CSA team should qualify through a CSA sanctioned competition not a USSF one. In this case it would have to be a Canadian Cup involving Toronto, the USL sides, and teams from smaller regional leagues in Canada like the CSL. As a CONCACAF association the CSA is entitled to at least one qualifying spot. See Puerto Rico and the PR Islanders for a similar example.

PS: I wonder whether the Bermuda FA will enter the Hogges (USL-2) into this year's CFU tournament.

[la fresa]

exciting

[SideshowBob]

I'm intrigued, but I'm not optimistic that such an expansion will really make the competition more interesting. In particular, I think that Mexico will be unhappy with adding teams and essentially subsidizing the competition.

I'd be more in favor of a group stage with 2 groups of four, keeping the same qualifying. Then just having the two group champs mean in a two legged final. That means 6 games for every team and a maximum of 8, not horribly bigger than the current setup which is 2 to 6 games for each team. At least every involved team gets a shot to host a few games and not be knocked out by a single bad game.

And on the note of Canada... I'd really like to see the USL sides and Toronto FC added to the Open Canada Cup (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Canada_Cup) and make it a more worthwhile competition and possibly providing an qualifying vie an expanded CCC if it were to happen. But I'm not holding my breath. It seems perfectly reasonable to me to have Toronto FC be able to qualify via typical means through MLS.

[Eliezar]

I disagree.

A CSA team should qualify through a CSA sanctioned competition not a USSF one. In this case it would have to be a Canadian Cup involving Toronto, the USL sides, and teams from smaller regional leagues in Canada like the CSL. As a CONCACAF association the CSA is entitled to at least one qualifying spot. See Puerto Rico and the PR Islanders for a similar example.

PS: I wonder whether the Bermuda FA will enter the Hogges (USL-2) into this year's CFU tournament.

Are the nonEnglish teams that play in England able to qualify for the UEFA cup and the Champions League through the English FA competitions? I realize they aren't knocking on Chelsea's door or anything, but hypothetically...

Puerto Rico Islanders do not compete in either of the competitions that allow for qualification for the CCC from the US at least as of this year (MLS Cup, MLS regular season).

[SwissGCZ]

Are the nonEnglish teams that play in England able to qualify for the UEFA cup and the Champions League through the English FA competitions?
No, they are not. (http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0600soccer/0800wrexham/tm_objectid=16811509&method=full&siteid=50082&headline=johansson-euro-boost-for-wales--big-three-name_page.html)

The English FA has gone on record stating they would not nominate them, and they have been banned from qualifying from the Welsh Cup because they snubbed the newly formed League of Wales in 1992. Right now Cardiff, Swansea, and Wrexham don't have a door to Europe (and rightfully so in my opinion.)

The Canadian scenario is much more similar to Liechtenstein's situation, where all clubs play in the Swiss league system, but have their own FA Cup and UEFA Cup spot.

[Goaler]

Man footy politics suck, Canada finally gets a pro team and now we have to deal with all of this bs, it's not cool.

[MasterShake29]

Man footy politics suck, Canada finally gets a pro team and now we have to deal with all of this bs, it's not cool.

You've had professional teams before 2007.

[MoRado]

I am expecting a 16-team tournament, with a groupstage and then a knockout round, anything different will make me unhappy

[Eliezar]

Man footy politics suck, Canada finally gets a pro team and now we have to deal with all of this bs, it's not cool.

Canada got a team? Do you know when they will start playing? :D

As soon as Toronto fires Mo and gets a real coach they'll have a team, right now its just a disaster up there. Luckily Toronto has games to see this year and in year 2 maybe they will be competitive like Chivas.

[Eliezar]

I am expecting a 16-team tournament, with a groupstage and then a knockout round, anything different will make me unhappy

That's what you would figure. I just hope they don't go with 4x4 with half the teams advancing. Let's go 3x4 with the top team and top 2nd place finisher advancing.

2 US, 2 Mex, 1 Costa Rica, 1 Guate, 1 Honduras, +2 central american teams qualified via tournament, +3 teams from the islands/Canada/South America

Would be a nice little tournament.

1 Mex
2 CA
Guate/Hond/Costa Rica (seed/draw/whatever)
1 Islands

1 US
1 CA
Guate/Hond/Costa Rica
2 Islands

2 Mex
2 US
Guate/Hond/Costa Rica
3 Islands

Nice little tournament really with a lot of pressure on every team in every game if they want to advance. If all the second seeds advance and they dilute the tournament to 16 teams I'm thinking there will be several Zzzz brackets.

[Intru]

Are the nonEnglish teams that play in England able to qualify for the UEFA cup and the Champions League through the English FA competitions? I realize they aren't knocking on Chelsea's door or anything, but hypothetically...

Puerto Rico Islanders do not compete in either of the competitions that allow for qualification for the CCC from the US at least as of this year (MLS Cup, MLS regular season).

The PR Islanders go in through a FPF sanction tourney, th Puerto Rico National Cup, PR gets two slots for the CFU Champions Cup which serves as the Carib qualy for the CCC, this is what SwissGCZ was trying to say.

[destruktion]

That's what you would figure. I just hope they don't go with 4x4 with half the teams advancing. Let's go 3x4 with the top team and top 2nd place finisher advancing.

2 US, 2 Mex, 1 Costa Rica, 1 Guate, 1 Honduras, +2 central american teams qualified via tournament, +3 teams from the islands/Canada/South America

Would be a nice little tournament.

1 Mex
2 CA
Guate/Hond/Costa Rica (seed/draw/whatever)
1 Islands

1 US
1 CA
Guate/Hond/Costa Rica
2 Islands

2 Mex
2 US
Guate/Hond/Costa Rica
3 Islands

Nice little tournament really with a lot of pressure on every team in every game if they want to advance. If all the second seeds advance and they dilute the tournament to 16 teams I'm thinking there will be several Zzzz brackets.


What I don't understand is the US has 11 teams and they get two teams to represent MLS , but then again the FMF has 18 teams and they only get to have 2 teams which is not fair.:mad:

[MasterShake29]

What I don't understand is the US has 11 teams and they get two teams to represent MLS , but then again the FMF has 18 teams and they only get to have 2 teams which is not fair.:mad:

There are 12 U.S. MLS teams, not 11. Also, even in UEFA, the number of entrants is not based on the number of teams in the league, but by success in European competitions.

The FMF may only want 2 spots anyway, in order to protect their Copa Libertadores spots.

[Otaku]

Sounds like a good idea to me. I like this set up better then the current one. 4 groups of 4 with home and away format. Three Mex teams should be good, the two champions and maybe one of the teams left out of the Libertadores from the InterLiga.