This could be the changes needed to make the Concacaf Champions League a success. These are not official changes yet. Thoughts? http://diariometro.com.ni/deportes/109615-liga-de-campeones-concachampions-nicaragua-cupo/ http://www.sounderatheart.com/2016/12/19/14004766/concacaf-champions-league-format-change-2018 Sounders GM hints at CONCACAF Champions League format change Yahoo Sports
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017–18_CONCACAF_Champions_League Details under Possible New Format. I like the changes. MLS and Liga MX would have to play against each other in the Spring tournament.
It has been painfully clear that, despite issues with fixture congestion, the old CCL format was much, much better. Expanding the group stage to 24 clubs has brought nothing but tedium and it has deprived the competition of MLS/LMX group stage matches. This has been somewhat alleviated by the fact that, unlike the early days of the competition, MLS clubs generally get out of their groups and face LMX opposition in the knockout phase. But it would be a lot more fun to have the group stage games too. More MLS vs. LMX and booting out 8 UNCAF/CFU clubs is a big win. The devil is in the details, though, so we'll have to see how they handle the scheduling.
The schedule for this is going to be interesting. It sure looks like 6 group stage games and then 6 knockout games in each portion of the competition. So 24 dates overall. I understand that they could potentially overlap but that's a lot.
Only 12 matches at most, withonly 6 guaranteed matches (group stage). MLS and LMX do not participate in the Fall Tournament.
To follow up on that. There is an international break from March 19-27 in 2018 and surely the Spring tournament would end in May. That means that the latest that the Spring tournament could start would be February 21 and that's if they played every available week. 1. February 21 2. February 28 3. March 7 4. March 14 5. April 4 6. April 11 --------------- 7. April 18 8. April 25 9. May 2 10. May 9 11. May 16 12. May 23 It seems more likely that there would be at least a week or two break between the group and knockout so the tournament would probably have to start at the beginning of February. Unless they pushed the knockouts into the fall. Surely not.
So MLS teams would have to play two extra games than they do now in half the time? That doesn't seem great.
So, would any of the MLS sides that qualified in 2016 get to participate? Or would the "spring 2018 edition" feature MLS clubs that will do their qualifying in 2017?
Hmm. I didn't read the Sounders At Heart article closely enough. It says, "The group stage would start in spring and the quarterfinals would begin in late summer/early fall." So in 2018, the "Spring tournament" would actually be a calendar year-long tournament? And in the fall of the 2018 the knockouts of the "Spring" tournament and the next Fall tournament would be going on simultaneously?
Next you'll want people to use "fall to spring schedule" to describe leagues that start after September 21st. I'd love to see the return of MLS-Mexico group stage games, but how economically viable can that autumn tournament be? If a Central American or Caribbean team makes the knockout stages, would they be faced with the potential of having to play those at the same time they're playing the qualifiers for the next year's tournament?
This has got to be an aggregate knockout format. There's no way in hell any club in Mexico would be cool with 12 potential midweek fixtures between January and May. That would be doubling the number of matches for them in the Spring from the current format (a finalist plays in 6 knockout games in the current format Spring stage), that would basically force the participating Mexican teams to prioritize this tournament or the league.
I disagree. Between mid-Feb and late-May this year, UNAM played 10 Liberadores matches. It would have been 12 if they had to play preliminaries. In fact, Chiapas did play 12 matches over the same period in 2011. If Mexican teams were willing* to play 12 midweek matches against South American clubs, I cant see them having an issue playing USA/Central American teams. *My understanding is that Mexico withdrew from 2017 Liberadores because they disagreed with the year long format.
Mexico had no choice but to pull out. The year-long Libertadores means that a Liga MX team could conflict with CCL, which has to take precedent. For example, Tijuana qualified for 2017 Libertadores, which is set to begin during the Liga MX Clausura. If they reach the final of the Clausura, then they would qualify for the 2017-18 CCL. The fall of 2017 would have a conflict for Libertadores and CCL group stage. Mexico is pushing for change so that they can get back into Libertadores. This new format would mean CCL (at least for Liga MX teams) and Libertadores would start at the same time, so no more conflict.
The only real problem I have with the new proposed format is the inclusion of 3 Caribbean teams in the Spring Tournament. The Caribbean, the weakest teams in the whole tournament, gets 3 teams in the Fall Tournament, and 3 teams in the Spring Tournament. Costa Rica by comparison, gets 2 teams in the Fall Tournament, but only 1 team in the Spring Tournament. Costa Rica deserves a second team in the Spring Tournament. There should only be 1 Caribbean team in the Spring Tournament. They should crown a Caribbean champion, and that should be the only Caribbean team in the Spring Tournament. The other 2 Caribbean spots in the Spring Tournament should be swapped with 2 teams currently placed in the Fall Tournament. So you move a second Costa Rica team to the Spring Tournament, and a second Honduras team as well. You'll then end up having 5 Caribbean teams in the Fall Tournament, which is clearly meant to be the weaker of the 2 tournaments.
Yes, CCL-qualified MLS clubs will probably play a week to ten days before the league season starts in March, as has been the case for several years now. (Previously, MLS teams had to get through their fall group to play in Feb/March, but under the new proposal it looks like MLS will start CCL play in Feb/March.) The real benefit is that it gets MLS clubs out of CCL play/travel in the fall -- when they are focused on playoff seeding and such in the league. And teams should theoretically be healthier and more rested for the MLS post-season.
Where are you getting 3 Caribbean teams in the "Spring" tournament? The scenario that I have seen shows just 1 Caribbean team in the "Spring" tournament. One more could make it by winning the Autumn tournament.