Since we haven't done this in a while, here comes the latest CCL qualifying round-up: North America Mexico - Nothing to report other than that two-thirds of the way in the Clausura regular season, Apertura finalists América and Tigres are both currently on track to reach the playoffs. Mind you, if the league ended today, they'd face off in the quarterfinals, limiting the number of hand-me-down possibilities. USA - Settled Canada - Settled Central America Guatemala - Comunicaciones remain six points ahead of Municipal at the top of the full-year table ("Tabla Acumulada") with eight games to go. Belize - Here I'm assuming that only the regular season counts towards the full-year table; right now, their Premier League bizarrely has each team playing each other only once in the regular season, with the top four moving to a second round in which everyone plays each other home and away (the top two advance to the final). If I'm right, then the Belmopan Bandits are this close to returning to the CCL...approved stadium notwithstanding. The current full-year table, with only two games to go (except for the Defence Force, who have a bye coming up): Belize Defence Force 29 Police United 28 Belmopan Bandits 27 Verdes FC 27 Belmopan are currently in third on goal differential, with +21 to +13 for Verdes. El Salvador - With five games to go in the Clausura regular season, Apertura champions Isidro Metapán are one point off the lead in the full-year table: Santa Tecla 54 Isidro Metapán 53 Juventud Independiente 47 Águila 46 FAS 45 Nicaragua - A disturbance in the force? Not only did Walter Ferretti break Real Estelí's record run of championships, but the Apertura winners remain four points ahead in the full-year table (with a game in hand, no less), although the Clausura regular season is only now reaching the halfway point. Honduras - With six games to go in the Clausura, Motagua are neck-and-neck with archrivals Olimpia in the full-year table, with the latter up by one point. Costa Rica - Bicampeones Saprissa find themselves four points behind archrivals Alajuelense with six games to go in the Torneo de Verano. Panama - With five games to go in the Clausura regular season, San Francisco are two points out of the playoffs and off pace in the full-year table: Sporting San Miguelito 50 Árabe Unido 49 Plaza Amador 47 San Francisco 45 Chorrillo FC 45 Tauro 44 Caribbean To the best of our knowledge, the 2015 CFU Club Championship will kick off on April 15 with the following groups: Group 1 Alpha United (GUY) *host Central FC (TRI) Inter Moengotapoe (SUR) Group 2 W Connection (TRI) *host SAP FC (ATG) Guyana Defence Force (GUY) Waterhouse FC (JAM) Group 3 América des Cayes (HAI) *host Montego Bay United (JAM) Excelsior (SUR) CS Moulien (GPE) Group 4 Don Bosco (HAI) *host Helenites (USVI) USR Sainte-Rose (GPE) Lyford Cay Dragons (BAH)
Other teams in the Belizean (?) league include the Freedom Fighters and the Assassins. Violent league they've got down there.
Making my job easier, the full-year tables for Belize and Panama can be found here and here, respectively. If anyone can share a link for El Salvador, I'd greatly appreciate it. The regular season is done in Belize, with the Police and Verdes both winning their last two games to stay above the Bandits in the full-year table. Meanwhile, the CFU Club Champions Cup is underway, with 2014-15 CCL participants Waterhouse FC withdrawing at the last minute because Caribbean football.
CFU Club Championships Day 1 Results Alpha United defeated Inter Moengotapoe 3-0 in Group 1 action at the start of the 2015 Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championship games yesterday, April 15, at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. In Group 2 Direct TV WConnection brushed aside Guyana Defence Force 7-1 at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago while there was no game played between Sap Football Club and Waterhouse FC due to Waterhouse FC’s late withdrawal from the competition. America Football Club beat SV Excelsior 4-2 in Group 3 at the Complexe Sports Des Cays Stadium in Haiti. I always wanted Kitsap to win the USOC so they can face Pumas in the CCL. Now I know who I'm rootin for in the CFU Championship.
The semifinals of the CFU Club Championship, set to be played on May 22 at TBA, are finalized: Central FC (TRI) vs. W Connection (TRI) Montego Bay United (JAM) vs. Don Bosco (HAI) Note that the Caribbean will send at least two débutants to the Champions League.
I want Cruz Azul back in the champions league....nothing like hearing all those horns en las noches magicas amirite @Paul Calixte ?
2015-16 CCL Qualifiers 1. Seattle Sounders [USA2] 2. LA Galaxy [USA1] 3. Vancouver Whitecaps [CAN] 4. DC United [USA3] 5. San Francisco [PAN1 or PAN2] 6. Real Salt Lake [USA4] 7. Tigres UANL [MEX2 or MEX3] 8. Club América [MEX1] 9. Comunicaciones [GUA1 or GUA2] 10. Motagua [HON1 or HON2] 11. Deportivo Saprissa [CRC1 or CRC2][ The 2015 -2016 is just around the corner. Looking at the MLS teams this year 4 out 5 of these teams are currently playing good soccer. Current Standings West: Whitecaps: 1rst | GD 2 | 16 PTS Sounders: 3rd | GD 5 | 13 PTS Galaxy: 4th | GD 1 | 12 PTS Real Salt Lake: 9th | GD -3 | 9 PTS Current Standings East: DC United: 2nd | GD 2 | 14 PTS
Comunicaciones will finish top of the overall 2014-15 Guatemala table, so are guaranteed GUA1 (Pot A)
Thumbing through Central America again (with the race for first in the Mexican Clausura table too close to call ): Guatemala - Municipal finished second in the full-year table and were runners-up in the Apertura, so they'll qualify if either they or their archrivals with the Clausura. Belize - It will be Belmopan Bandits vs. Verdes FC in the finals: winner takes the CCL berth. Honduras - Motagua finished behind Olimpia in the full-year table, with the quarterfinals just around the corner. El Salvador - Game, set and full-year table, jaguares. Nicaragua - With five games to go in the Clausura regular season, Walter Ferretti and Real Estelí are neck-and-neck, with the former holding a slim two-point lead. Costa Rica - Alajuelense just need to win their last game of the Torneo de Verano regular season to top the full-year table; Saprissa, OTOH, would have to max out and hope that the manudos slip up. Panama - San Francisco finished behind both Sporting San Miguelito and Árabe Unido in the full-year table. Worse, they failed to even reach the playoffs, so they'll have to hope for neighbors Club Atlético Independiente (CAI) La Chorrera or Plaza Amador, prone to the same Champions League allergy as a certain Radamel Falcao , to win the Clausura. 2015-16 CCL Qualifiers 1. Seattle Sounders [USA2] 2. LA Galaxy [USA1] 3. Vancouver Whitecaps [CAN] 4. DC United [USA3] 5. San Francisco [PAN1 or PAN2] 6. Real Salt Lake [USA4] 7. Tigres UANL [MEX2 or MEX3] 8. Club América [MEX1] 9. Comunicaciones [GUA1] 10. Motagua [HON1 or HON2] 11. Deportivo Saprissa [CRC1 or CRC2] 12. Isidro Metapán [SLV1]
CFU final round will take place in Trinidad and Tobago. The semi final matches have also changed: Don Bosco v Central FC Montego Bay Utd v W Connection Further information in the 2015 CFU Club Championship thread.
A quick update on the hand-me-down situations in Mexico: If neither América nor Tigres make the final, then the 2015 Clausura finalists will qualify for the Champions League on their own merits. If América make the final and play anyone other than Tigres or Veracruz, América will stay MEX1, the other finalist will be MEX2, Tigres stay MEX3 and Veracruz (the highest team in the Clausura table not yet qualified) would take MEX4. If América play Veracruz in the Final...América MEX1, Veracruz MEX2, Tigres MEX3 and Atlas MEX4. If Tigres play anyone other than América or Veracruz in the final and lose, then América stay MEX1, the Clausura winner moves up to MEX2, Tigres stay MEX3 and Veracruz would be MEX4. If Tigres play Veracruz in the final and lose, then: América MEX1, Veracruz MEX2, Tigres MEX3 and Atlas MEX4. If Tigres play anyone other than América or Atlas in the final and win, then América stay MEX1, Tigres move up to MEX2, MEX3 gets passed down the Apertura table to Atlas and MEX4 goes to the Clausura runner-up. If Tigres play Atlas in the final and win, then: América MEX1, Tigres MEX2, Toluca MEX3 and Atlas MEX4. Finally, an América-Tigres rematch in the final moves Tigres up to MEX2, Atlas to MEX3 and Veracruz to MEX4.
Only grandes need apply in Costa Rica: the Torneo de Verano final will be between Alajuelense and Herediano. The former can claim Costa Rica's top seed, while a Herediano victory would leave CRC1 in Saprissa's hands. The loser will have to wait and hope that the FFB screws up stadium maintenance in Belize for another year.
I hope I am not stealing someones thunder by doing this, but there has been some important developments in Central America this weekend as all leagues are now in the latter stages and the race for CCL spots are starting to hot up, or be decided in some cases. MEXICO The top four seeds lost their Clausura quarter-finals!!! The semi finals are Guadalajara/Santos Laguna and Querétaro/Pachuca. This means Tigres are locked into MEX3 (América are MEX1 as we already knew). COSTA RICA Herediano and Alajuelense will face off for the Verano Championship. Should Alajuelense be victorious, they will be CRC1, with Saprissa CRC2. Saprissa will claim CRC1 if Herediano will the title, who will take CRC2. HONDURAS Olimpia and Motagua reached the Clausura final. Both are guaranteed CCL qualification, with the champion taking HON1 and the runners-up taking HON2. GUATEMALA Comunicaciones are once again in the final to seal GUA1. They will face Municipal who will be GUA2 regardless of the result. PANAMA Independiente and Árabe Unido take narrow 1-0 leads into the semi-final second legs over Sporting San Miguelito and Plaza Amador respectively. Apertura champion San Francisco looks more than likely to take PAN2; only Independiente taking the Clausura title will gift them PAN1. EL SALVADOR Isidro Metapán reach their second final of the season, and assure themselves SLV1. Their challenger, Santa Tecla will make their début as SLV2 (as either champion, or best runners-up). NICARAGUA The Clausura regular season finished this weekend, with Real Estelí taking top spot. However, this wasnt enough as Apertura champions Walter Ferretti finished overall #1 in the regular season standings and will also make their CCL début as NCA1. BELIZE Verdes FC won the Clausura championship 2-1 over Belmopan Bandits and will qualify as BLZ1 as the champions with the best regular season record. They will (subject to stadium clearance) make their second appearance - their first was in 2008/09 where they lost 0-12 to Cruz Azul as Hankook Verdes.
Thanks for the excellent wrap-up! Just a couple of corrections... To avoid the BSMX horde coming in and pistol-whipping us with maps. Plaza Amador also finished behind San Francisco in the full-year table - stop laughing! One of these days, Plaza Amador will qualify for the Champions League...even if they apparently have taken an abstinence pact with Cruz Azul and Atlas to avoid league titles. "Best runners-up" is no longer in effect in El Salvador; otherwise, as @slaminsams may remember, Once Municipal would've rightly participated in the CCL by now (FESFUT changed the qualification rules in the middle of that same season). If Isidro Metapán double up on league titles, SLV2 goes down the full-year table without taking runners-up into account. Thus...Santa Tecla still takes it, so you got the right answer. Next up, the CFU Club Championship semifinals on Friday and the Third-Place Match on Sunday. 2015-16 CCL Qualifiers 1. Seattle Sounders [USA2] 2. LA Galaxy [USA1] 3. Vancouver Whitecaps [CAN] 4. DC United [USA3] 5. San Francisco [PAN1 or PAN2] 6. Real Salt Lake [USA4] 7. Tigres UANL [MEX3] 8. Club América [MEX1] 9. Comunicaciones [GUA1] 10. Motagua [HON1 or HON2] 11. Deportivo Saprissa [CRC1 or CRC2] 12. Isidro Metapán [SLV1] 13. Olimpia [HON1 or HON2] 14. Municipal [GUA2] 15. Santa Tecla [SLV2] 16. Walter Ferretti [NCA] 17. Verdes FC [BLZ]
10 mins till time in first game of the semifinal in CFU, Don Bosco - Central 0-0, Central with 10 players. Fingers crossed for Haitian team!
0-0 AET, Central wins 3-1 on penalties with three saves from their goalie Williams! Central qualifies to their first CCL ever.