CONCACAF Champions League - Announcement 28.01.08

I dont no if the USSF takes the same position as the English FA does on welsh clubs it may not be so easy.

 

Does Jack Warner own a travel agency?

 

Did you not pay attention to what I said earlier, TFC will play because its not in the USSF it a member of the CSA, Like the Islander which are not a member of the USSF but a member of the FPF, the spots go to nations not league !

 

I'm I the only one who's freaking pumped up about this? There is going to be US club soccer YEAR ROUND. That's more than most other countries. That freaking rules.

And don't worry about a burdensome schedule, obviously MLS was involved in the creation of the league, because there is no way the Champions League (I love typing that and having mean something about a team I like) would have been created without the USSF's approval. The league will feature a minimum 8 fixtures vs MLS teams; fixtures in the US = big cash for everyone involved (at least in terms Central American and Caribbean teams are used to). I can only conclude that the clubs of MLS concluded that this was good for them.

I sure don't think so. I bet if CONCACAF chose to use CONCACAF Coefficients or some such thing, the US would be #2. The top two teams get 2 automatic spots in the League and 2 more in the qualifying round. That sounds right to me.

 

I know it goes to the nation and is the USSF decides it wont take away american spots if TFC were to qualify and if CONCACAF decides, much like UEFA does now, a team can not repersent a country that it does not play for i.e Cardiff then TFC is left out of the competition. By the way my bad for responding to a post before checking to see if you had responded.

 

I love this!!! All the international tourneys are combining to make MLS very exciting!! During the middle of the slow summer MLS season we get SuperLiga action, and then at the end of the MLS season we get not only the race to get into the playoffs and the Supporter's Shield race but we will also get the beginning of Champions League!! And then after MLS Cup is over you can still look forward to having MLS action in the Champions League--assuming that MLS teams make it that far. Then once MLS begins again, you not only have the excitement of the new MLS season but also the excitement of the end of Champions League (provided an MLS Team makes it that far). The US seems to be getting close to having soccer year round with this latest development.

 

This doesn't make it any more "YEAR ROUND" than it already was. The new preliminary and group stages will be played when MLS would be in action anyway. The knockout rounds will give whomever's in them an early start to the year, but that already happens at the same time now with the old CCC.

 

So this means Montreal, Vancouver, Belize and Puerto Rico can't take part of this competition since they play in foreign leagues? Right.

Seriously, I don't get this bitchin' a lot of people are doing on this website. Do you guys fear TFC will actually win this tournament?

For the record, Canada has a professional soccer league. It is called, Canadian Soccer League. Check it up.

 

I am excited, as I love international soccer and think the more competition for MLS clubs, the better. Yes, even if it means games against lesser clubs. I actually like the idea of clubs from some other smaller countries being able to get a shot to win and having Canada involved is long overdue.

That said, I don't see how this really makes US Club soccer "year round" any more than currently -- the first half of the tournament (prelim/group stages) occur fully within the MLS season. The knockout rounds start a little before the MLS season begins, but isn't significantly different from when the CCC is now. What this does do, though, is lead to more games involving US teams and that IMHO is good. Because more soccer is a good thing.

 

Yeah, I guess your right. On the other hand, the US Soccer season is going to last from February to November. That's still pretty good.

 

I get the feeling this means that qualification spots are going to go to these teams from Canada, with some way for TFC to get in. TFC has no right to take a US spot because it does not belong to the USSF. It's possible CONCACAF might have decided to do things differently, but I doubt it. The only member of CONCACAF who would be in favor of this would be the CSA, and, from the looks of things (i.e. starting a Champions League), CONCACAF wants to do things more like the rest of the world.

 

Like others here I had a feeling that this format would fail, until I just saw GolTV news. In an interview Jack Warner says that Concacaf is paying all club expenses! If this is the case, then the small clubs will be able to play in the competition.

Also, rest assured that one of the spots from USSF will go to the Open Cup winner, and that the CSA will most likely setup their own 'Open Cup' competition.

And as far as Costa Rica being screwed... big time! But hey, what did you expect from a confederation that's still being run by Jack Warner and Chuck Blazer.

 

I feel we need a FAQ for the Canada spot:

1) Don't be so damn Euro-centric. Yes, we know the Welsh teams that play in England can't qualify for the Champions League, blah, blah, blah. We also once heard that no Canadian team would ever be allowed to play in MLS. We all know how that turned out...this is CONCACAF's show. If it wants to allow a single Canadina team in, then that's what is going to happen. And, as a country in CONCACAF, Canada is entitled to a spot. Period. End of story.

2) It's up to the CSA to sanction a champion. It doesn't matter whether the posters of Big Soccer think that champion is worthy or not.

3) plans are well underway to create a three team Canadian league, which will be played in the form of a round-robin between Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver this summer. The winner will be the Canadian champion and thus gain entry into the CONCACAF champions league.

4) TFC shouldn't be allowed to take a US teams spot through MLS because it isn't an American team and since there is a way for the team to make it in through Canada.

5) If you feel it's unfair that TFC gets a near bye into the tournament, tough. If they don't deserve to be there they'll be two and out anyway, so what's it matter?

 

Has anybody noticed how similar the trophy in the CONCACAF Champions League logo is to the MLS Cup trophy? Look at the middle of the logo...

There seem to be 2 differences between the two: 1) the Champions League trophy looks like it will be gold instead of the MLS Cup silver 2) and it also looks like the Champions League trophy may have a background wrap around the trophy. But at its heart the Champions League trophy is the MLS Cup!!

 

Which is why they prevented the Puerto Rico Islanders from trying to qualify to the CCC this year.

Oh wait...

You're wrong. TFC will be eligible for the tournament, as it should be.

 

That is what I noticed. Right at the end of the regular MLS season as well.

Yikes.

 

I don't see SuperLiga going anywhere. They can easily move its timetable to earlier to avoid the CCL, say late Jume and throughout July. No reason to have to use the same schedule as last year.

What moreso will be interesting is seeing who end up being involved in SuperLiga. I think DCU and Houston have a better chance at being in both given that they don't have to be in the preliminary round of the CCL -- their first CCL games aren't until Sept 16 at the earliest.

I'm also curious as to how this will affect CONCACAF berths in Copa Sudamericana. It would be essentially impossible for a team to play simultaneously in both the the CCL and Sudamericana, so I don't think we'll see any Sudamericana qualification tied to the 2008 CCC (or the 2008-9 CCL).

 

Just because TFC would have to qualify through the CSA doesn't mean it's ineligible, unless of course, you mean there's no way a Canadian team will make it past qualifying.

 

Then the teams shouldn't let an USL team win...It's not like, if the USSF went that route, that it would be a surprise to the teams playing..."What? What do you mean a CCL spot was on the line. No one told us that ."

 

I would be surprised if the US Cup Champ made it to the league. Mainly because the winner of the US Cup isn't the US Champion, and the Champions League is usually reserved for Champions and their runner ups. On the other hand, there is talk around the FA to give a UEFA Champions League spot to the FA Cup winner, so that people will care more about it, so it could happen. But I don't think it will.

 

I thought you were arguing that TFC should not be eligible at all because it plays in MLS.

 

Yes, if the USSF takes the same position as the English FA and CONCACAF takes the same position as UEFA. Im not complaining my opinion is TFC is an MLS team and should be allowed to qualify the same way the rest of the MLS does.

 

What would you have us do? Not play?

I'm not sure what kind of maps you have out there in Costa R... er... Oceanside, CA, but the last time I checked, Canada was still a country in North America, and as such a full-fledged member of CONCACAF.

Your issue has nothing to do with us getting one freakin' spot - seriously, it's one spot, the absolute lowest we could have - in the preliminary round and everything to do with the fact that CR has less spots than the US.

 

Actually, the winner of the US Open Cup is exactly that, the US Champion.