That, and playing "home" games in their opponent's stadium in Costa Rica... At least when they played in Bermuda it was a neutral site.
Concacaf Club Rankings Here are the current rankings (11/20/23) for the clubs that have clinched spots in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup. https://www.concacaf.com/rankings/club/ I also included the MLS and Caribbean clubs that are still alive to qualify in Gray. Teams in Blue have already qualified for the Round of 16 so their ranking doesn't affect the draw for Round One. 1. Club America, Liga MX 1,253 2. CF Monterrey, Liga MX 1,250 3. Tigres UANL, Liga MX 1,231 -------------------------------------------------- 6. Philadelphia Union, MLS 1,217 5. Toluca, Liga MX 1,212 7. Guadalajara, Liga MX 1,208 8. Pachuca, Liga MX 1,207 9. Orlando City, MLS 1,203 10. Los Angeles FC, MLS 1,200 11. Columbus Crew, MLS 1,195 13. Nashville SC, MLS 1,191 14. Seattle Sounders, MLS 1,191 15. FC Cincinnati, MLS 1,190 21. Inter Miami, MLS 1,182 22. Sporting Kansas City, MLS 1,181 23. New England Revolution, MLS 1,179 25. Houston Dynamo, MLS 1,177 -------------------------------------------------------- 33. Vancouver Whitecaps, MLS 1,170 44. LD Alajelense, PD Costa Rica 1,150 46. D. Saprissa, PD Costa Rica 1,146 47. St. Louis CITY, MLS 1,144 51. Comunicaciones, Guatemala LNFG 1,123 52. CS Herediano, PD Costa Rica 1,123 53. Cavalry FC, CPL 1,115 55. CA Independiente, Panama LPF 1,113 56. Forge FC, CPL 1,111 72. Real Esteli, Nicaragua LNF 1,073 102. Cavalier FC, Jamaica PL 1,039 109. Robinhood, Suriname 1,028 113. Moca FC, Dominican Republic LDF 1,023 131. Harbour View FC, Jamaica PL 1,001 The rankings include international and domestic competition so they change weekly.
I get rewarding the champ of the Caribbean Cup, but man putting a team ranked in the 100's directly into the Round of 16 is something. In other news, looks like Houston is pretty much in Pot 2 at this point unless they manage to pull off MLS Cup...right?
Concacaf Club Rankings Here are the current rankings (11/27/23) for the clubs that have clinched spots in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup. https://www.concacaf.com/rankings/club/ I also included the MLS and Caribbean clubs that are still alive to qualify in Gray. Teams in Blue have already qualified for the Round of 16 so their ranking doesn't affect the draw for Round One. 1. Club America, Liga MX 1,253 2. CF Monterrey, Liga MX 1,250 3. Tigres UANL, Liga MX 1,231 -------------------------------------------------- 5. Philadelphia Union, MLS 1,214 6. Toluca, Liga MX 1,212 7. Guadalajara, Liga MX 1,208 8. Pachuca, Liga MX 1,207 10. Orlando City, MLS 1,200 9. Los Angeles FC, MLS 1,203 11. Columbus Crew, MLS 1,198 13. FC Cincinnati, MLS 1,192 14. Nashville SC, MLS 1,191 21. Inter Miami, MLS 1,182 22. Houston Dynamo, MLS 1,179 23. New England Revolution, MLS 1,179 -------------------------------------------------------- 33. Vancouver Whitecaps, MLS 1,170 44. D. Saprissa, PD Costa Rica 1,148 45. LD Alajelense, PD Costa Rica 1,147 47. St. Louis CITY, MLS 1,144 51. CS Herediano, PD Costa Rica 1,125 52. Comunicaciones, Guatemala LNFG 1,121 53. Cavalry FC, CPL 1,115 54. CA Independiente, Panama LPF 1,113 56. Forge FC, CPL 1,111 74. Real Esteli, Nicaragua LNF 1,071 100. Cavalier FC, Jamaica PL 1,040 110. Robinhood, Suriname 1,028 114. Moca FC, Dominican Republic LDF 1,023 133. Harbour View FC, Jamaica PL 1,001 The rankings include international and domestic competition so they change weekly.
Well I may have spoke too soon...with Seattle and Kansas City out of the picture (every team on the East side has already qualified and is above Houston), all Houston needs is for LAFC to not win MLS Cup to get into the top 11 and Pot A (if I'm reading the rankings correctly)? I doubt Alajuelense can catch them even if they do win the Central American Cup.
If LAFC wins MLS Cup they go straight into the Round of 16 like Pachuca and Miami. Same thing for whoever wins the Central American Cup. That would not drop Houston below 11th of the 22 teams in the First Round.
🎥 Resumen: Final de Ida #Copacentroamericana@realestelifc 🆚 @ldacr 📰 Crónica del juego https://t.co/1TnSvi0Wov 👈 pic.twitter.com/JvH5kS9E3Z— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) November 29, 2023
I admittedly haven't been paying attention to this, but Real Esteli made the final?! That's incredible! I figured we would never get a Nicaraguan team in the tournament again.
They already are qualified for CCC now and had a chance to make it to the second round but going back to Costa Rica down 3-0 would take a miracle to win the Central American Cup. The stadium looked totally filled with fans, so once again these Cup qualifying tournaments are looking like they are here to stay.
Mind you, attendance figures have improved significantly since the group stage. Then again, Olimpia crashing out early may well convince fans of all teams to show up from the start next time...
Hopefully the tournament will grow the region more as CONCACAF needs more quality in domestic leagues.
Hey @Athlone is there a particular reason that club attendances in Jamaica have been far lower than for most other countries involved in the Caribbean Cup? ...ok, to be fair: the crowds have been solid in Suriname, good in the DR, and abysmal in Jamaica and Trinibago.
Jamaicans just don't take football seriously enough to turn out for these kinds of games. Really that simple The best schoolboy/high school football teams are the best at getting consistent support from Jamaican fans (Jamaicans love their high schools and are quite fanatic about their track and football teams), but everything else is dicey. Add to that the fact that this is a new competition that isn't terribly well known among local fans and you have a recipe for very low attendance.
Concacaf Club Rankings Here are the current rankings (12/4/23) for the clubs that have clinched spots in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup. https://www.concacaf.com/rankings/club/ I also included the MLS and Caribbean clubs that are still alive to qualify in Gray. Teams in Blue have already qualified for the Round of 16 so their ranking doesn't affect the draw for Round One. 1. Club America, Liga MX 1,255 2. CF Monterrey, Liga MX 1,243 3. Tigres UANL, Liga MX 1,233 -------------------------------------------------- 5. Philadelphia Union, MLS 1,214 6. Toluca, Liga MX 1,212 7. Pachuca, Liga MX 1,207 8. Guadalajara, Liga MX 1,205 9. Los Angeles FC, MLS 1,205 10. Columbus Crew, MLS 1,201 11. Orlando City, MLS 1,200 13. Nashville SC, MLS 1,191 14. FC Cincinnati, MLS 1,189 21. Inter Miami, MLS 1,182 23. New England Revolution, MLS 1,179 26. Houston Dynamo, MLS 1,178 -------------------------------------------------------- 33. Vancouver Whitecaps, MLS 1,170 44. D. Saprissa, PD Costa Rica 1,149 45. LD Alajelense, PD Costa Rica 1,148 47. St. Louis CITY, MLS 1,144 49. CS Herediano, PD Costa Rica 1,127 52. Comunicaciones, Guatemala LNFG 1,121 53. Cavalry FC, CPL 1,115 54. CA Independiente, Panama LPF 1,115 55. Forge FC, CPL 1,111 74. Real Esteli, Nicaragua LNF 1,069 102. Cavalier FC, Jamaica PL 1,038 108. Robinhood, Suriname 1,030 109. Moca FC, Dominican Republic LDF 1,026 136. Harbour View FC, Jamaica PL 998 The rankings include international and domestic competition so they change weekly.
So at this point, we can pencil in América and the Monterrey teams as the top 3 teams that will be pre-seeded in the first round, with only the order subject to change depending on their current Apertura playoff performances, right? On the other hand, it looks like Pachuca will join the Revs in cheering for Columbus on Saturday, 'cause LAFC could shoot to the top seed among those going straight to the R16 if they win.
Why would it be? To be fair, there's absolutely no precedent to work with here - I mean, who's to say that the host shouldn't be the best-ranked team among all the domestic league champs in the last four years? - but if they want the most recent champ in, nothing to be lost by waiting for MLS Cup 2024.
Yeah I was thinking MLS Cup winners not CCL (CCC now), but I agree if they let the "host" in then it will most likely be the 2024 winner of MLS Cup. Old article but they spell it out pretty well here assuming nothing has changed: Seattle Sounders guaranteed spot in expanded 2025 FIFA Club World Cup | MLSSoccer.com
The next 3 calendar years are going to be a lot of fun as North American based fans of MLS and frankly soccer in general. Lots to look forward to.
I think CONCACAF agrees. https://www.insideworldfootball.com...caf-home-football-complex-dominican-republic/