2020 CONCACAF Champions League

The 2020 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2020 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) is the 12th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 55th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.[1]

2020 CONCACAF Champions League
2020 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League
Tournament details
Dates18 February – TBC (originally 7 May) 2020
Teams16 (from 8 associations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played19
Goals scored58 (3.05 per match)
Top scorer(s) Héber
(3 goals)

Starting from this season, only 10 of the 16 teams directly qualify for the tournament, with the other six berths allocated through the CONCACAF League, where previously only the winners would have qualified.[2]

The winners of the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League will qualify for the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar. Monterrey are the title holders, but did not qualify for this tournament and are unable to defend their title.

On 12 March 2020, CONCACAF suspended the tournament with immediate effect due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] On 13 March 2020, CONCACAF suspended all upcoming competitions scheduled to take place over the next 30 days, with the new dates of the matches to be confirmed later.[4] On 7 August 2020, they provided an update on the remaining 11 matches of the tournament, including different options such as centralizing the remaining ties in one city.[5]

Qualification

A total of 16 teams participate in the CONCACAF Champions League:

Therefore, teams from between 6 and 10 out of the 41 CONCACAF member associations may participate in the CONCACAF Champions League.

North America

The nine direct berths for the North American Football Union (NAFU), which consists of three member associations, were allocated as follows: four berths each for Mexico and the United States, and one berth for Canada.

For Mexico, the champions and runners-up of the Liga MX Apertura and Clausura Liguilla (playoff) tournaments qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. If there was any team which were finalists of both tournaments, the vacated berth was reallocated using a formula, based on regular season records, that ensured that two teams qualified via each tournament.

For the United States, four teams qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League, three through the Major League Soccer (MLS) season and one through its domestic cup competition:

If there was any team which qualified through multiple berths, or if there was any Canada-based MLS team which were champions of the MLS Cup, the Supporters' Shield, or conference regular season, the vacated berth was reallocated to the U.S.-based team with the best MLS regular season record not yet qualified.

For Canada, the champions of the Canadian Championship, its domestic cup competition which awards the Voyageurs Cup, qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. While some Canada-based teams compete in MLS, they could not qualify through either the MLS regular season or playoffs. Moreover, a team from the Canadian Premier League qualified for the CONCACAF League, meaning a second team from Canada (and a tenth team from North America) could qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League.

Central America

Teams from the Central American Football Union (UNCAF), which consists of seven member associations, must qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League through the CONCACAF League. A total of 18 teams from Central America qualify for the CONCACAF League through their domestic leagues. As all but four teams in the CONCACAF League are from Central America, between two and six teams from Central America may qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League.

Caribbean

Teams from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), which consists of 31 member associations, qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League either as champions of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship, the first-tier subcontinental Caribbean club tournament, or through the CONCACAF League. Since 2018, the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship is open to teams from professional leagues, where they can qualify as champions or runners-up of their respective association's league in the previous season.[6]

Another three teams from the Caribbean qualify for the CONCACAF League, which are the runners-up and third-placed team of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship, and the winners of a playoff between the fourth-placed team of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship and the champions of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, the second-tier subcontinental Caribbean club tournament which is open to teams from non-professional leagues, where they can qualify as champions of their respective association's league in the previous season. Therefore, between one and four teams from the Caribbean may qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League.

CONCACAF League
Further information: 2019 CONCACAF League § Qualification

Besides the 10 direct entrants of the CONCACAF Champions League, another 22 teams (1 from North America, 18 from Central America, and 3 from the Caribbean) qualify for the CONCACAF League, a tournament held from July to November prior to the CONCACAF Champions League.[7] The top six teams of the CONCACAF League, i.e., champions, runners-up, both losing semi-finalists, and best two losing quarter-finalists, qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League.

Teams

The following 16 teams (from eight associations) qualified for the tournament.

In the following table, the number of appearances, last appearance, and previous best result count only those in the CONCACAF Champions League era starting from 2008–09 (not counting those in the era of the Champions' Cup from 1962 to 2008).

Direct entrants (10 teams)
Association Team Qualifying method Last appearance Previous Best (Last)
 Mexico (4 berths) América 2018 Apertura champions 5th (2018) Champions (2015–16)
UANL 2019 Clausura champions 6th (2019) Runners-up (2019)
Cruz Azul 2018 Apertura runners-up 6th (2014–15) Champions (2013–14)
León 2019 Clausura runners-up 2nd (2014–15) Group stage (2014–15)
 United States (4 berths) Seattle Sounders FC 2019 MLS Cup champions 6th (2018) Semi-finals (2012–13)
Los Angeles FC 2019 MLS Supporters' Shield champions 1st Debut
New York City FC 2019 MLS Eastern Conference regular season champions 1st Debut
Atlanta United FC 2019 U.S. Open Cup champions 2nd (2019) Quarter-finals (2019)
 Canada (1 berth) Montreal Impact 2019 Canadian Championship champions 4th[Note MTL] (2014–15) Runners-up (2014–15)
 Jamaica (CFU berth) Portmore United 2019 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship champions 1st Debut
Qualified teams from CONCACAF League (6 teams)
Association Team Qualifying method Last appearance Previous Best (Last)
 Costa Rica Saprissa 2019 CONCACAF League champions (1st overall) 9th (2019) Semi-finals (2010–11)
San Carlos 2019 CONCACAF League best ranked losing quarter-finalists (5th overall) 1st Debut
 El Salvador Alianza 2019 CONCACAF League worse ranked losing semi-finalists (4th overall) 4th (2019) Round of 16 (2019)
 Guatemala Comunicaciones 2019 CONCACAF League 2nd best ranked losing quarter-finalists (6th overall) 6th (2015–16) Quarter-finals (2009–10)
 Honduras Motagua 2019 CONCACAF League runners-up (2nd overall) 5th (2018) Round of 16 (2018)
Olimpia 2019 CONCACAF League better ranked losing semi-finalists (3rd overall) 11th (2018) Quarter-finals (2014–15)
Notes
  1. ^
    Montreal Impact: Montreal Impact's first appearance in 2008–09 was made by an earlier incarnation of the franchise with the same name, which played in the USL First Division. The current MLS club began play in 2012, and has made three appearances since then.

Draw

Location of teams of the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League
North American Zone Central American Zone Caribbean Zone

The draw for the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League was held on 9 December 2019, 21:00 EST (local time 20:00 CST), at the University of the Cloister of Sor Juana in Mexico City.[8][9]

The draw determined each tie in the round of 16 (numbered 1 through 8) between a team from Pot 1 and a team from Pot 2, each containing eight teams. The "Bracket Position Pots" (Pot A and Pot B) contained the bracket positions numbered 1 through 8 corresponding to each tie. The teams from Pot 1 were assigned a bracket position from Pot A and the teams from Pot 2 were assigned a bracket position from Pot B. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other in the round of 16 except for "wildcard" teams which replaced a team from another association.[10]

The seeding of teams was based on the CONCACAF Club Index.[11] The CONCACAF Club Index, instead of ranking each team, was based on the on-field performance of the teams that had occupied the respective qualifying slots in the previous five editions of the CONCACAF Champions League. To determine the total points awarded to a slot in any single edition of the CONCACAF Champions League, CONCACAF used the following formula:

Points per Participation Win Draw Stage advanced Champions
4 3 1 1 2

The slots were assigned by the following rules:[12]

  • For teams from North America, nine teams qualified based on criteria set by their association (e.g., tournament champions, runners-up, cup champions), resulting in an assigned slot (e.g., MEX1, MEX2) for each team. If a team from Canada qualified through the CONCACAF League, they were ranked within their association, resulting in an assigned slot (i.e., CAN2) for them.
  • For teams from Central America, they qualified through the CONCACAF League, and were ranked per association by their CONCACAF League ranking, resulting in an assigned slot (e.g., CRC1, CRC2) for each team.
  • For teams from the Caribbean, the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship champions were assigned the Caribbean champion slot (i.e., CCC1). If teams from the Caribbean qualified through the CONCACAF League, they were ranked per association by their CONCACAF League ranking, resulting in an assigned slot (e.g., JAM1, SUR1) for each team.

The 16 teams were distributed in the pots as follows:[13][14]

Pot Rank Slot 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2018 2019 Total Team
Pot 1 1 MEX3 32 23 15 17 26 113 Cruz Azul
2 MEX2 16 20 30 25 21 112 UANL
3 MEX1 11 33 27 12 20 103 América
4 CAN1 23 8 22 21 5 79 Montreal Impact
5 USA3 13 16 20 17 11 77 New York City FC
6 USA4 20 16 8 5 11 60 Atlanta United FC
7 USA2 9 13 14 7 15 58 Los Angeles FC
8 USA1 11 14 11 11 11 58 Seattle Sounders FC
Pot 2 9 CRC2 18 9 14 5 7 53 San Carlos
10 MEX4 9 18 10 9 4 50 León
11 HON1 15 10 11 5 4 45 Motagua
12 CRC1 12 10 8 5 7 42 Saprissa
13 HON2 8 11 11 5 0 35 Olimpia
14 SLV1 4 7 9 7 5 32 Alianza
15 GUA1 11 8 9 0 4 32 Comunicaciones
16 CCC1 4 8 5 4 4 25 Portmore United

Format

In the CONCACAF Champions League, the 16 teams play a single-elimination tournament. Each tie is played on a home-and-away two-legged basis.

  • In the round of 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals, the away goals rule is applied if the aggregate score is tied after the second leg. If still tied, a penalty shoot-out is used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 12.7).[1]
  • In the finals, the away goals rule is not applied, and extra time is played if the aggregate score is tied after the second leg. If the aggregate score is still tied after extra time, a penalty shoot-out is used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 12.8).[1]

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.

Round First leg Second leg
Round of 16 18–20 February 2020 25–27 February 2020
Quarter-finals 10–11 March and TBC 2020 (originally also 12 March 2020) TBC (originally 17–19 March 2020)
Semi-finals TBC (originally 7–9 April 2020) TBC (originally 14–16 April 2020)
Final TBC (originally 28–30 April 2020) TBC (originally 5–7 May 2020)

Times are Eastern Time, as listed by CONCACAF (local times are in parentheses):[15]

Bracket

  Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
                                             
Saprissa 2 0 2  
Montreal Impact (a) 2 0 2  
  Montreal Impact 1  
  Olimpia 2  
Olimpia (p) 2 2 4 (4)
Seattle Sounders FC 2 2 4 (2)  
  Winner QF4[†]  
  Winner QF3[†]  
San Carlos 3 0 3  
New York City FC 5 1 6  
  New York City FC 0
  UANL 1  
Alianza 2 2 4
UANL 1 4 5  
  Winner SF2[†]
  Winner SF1[†]
León 2 0 2  
Los Angeles FC 0 3 3  
  Los Angeles FC
  Cruz Azul  
Portmore United 1 0 1
Cruz Azul 2 4 6  
  Winner QF2[†]
  Winner QF1[†]  
Comunicaciones 1 1 2 (3)  
América (p) 1 1 2 (5)  
  América 3
  Atlanta United FC 0  
Motagua 1 0 1
Atlanta United FC 1 3 4  
  1. † Order of legs to be decided, with the team in each tie that have the better performance in previous rounds hosting the second leg.

Round of 16

In the round of 16, the matchups were decided by draw: R16-1 through R16-8. The teams from Pot 1 in the draw hosted the second leg.

Summary

The first legs were played on 18–20 February, and the second legs were played on 25–27 February 2020.[16]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Motagua 1–4 Atlanta United FC 1–1 0–3
Comunicaciones 2–2 (3–5 p) América 1–1 1–1
Portmore United 1–6 Cruz Azul 1–2 0–4
León 2–3 Los Angeles FC 2–0 0–3
Alianza 4–5 UANL 2–1 2–4
San Carlos 3–6 New York City FC 3–5 0–1
Olimpia 4–4 (4–2 p) Seattle Sounders FC 2–2 2–2
Saprissa 2–2 (a) Montreal Impact 2–2 0–0

Matches
Motagua 1–1 Atlanta United FC
 Report
Referee: Adonai Escobedo (Mexico)
Atlanta United FC 3–0 Motagua
 Report
Attendance: 8,474
Referee: Keylor Herrera (Costa Rica)

Atlanta United FC won 4–1 on aggregate.

Comunicaciones 1–1 América
  • Gordillo  81'
 Report
América 1–1 Comunicaciones
 Report
Penalties
 5–3
Referee: Henry Bejarano (Costa Rica)

Tied 2–2 on aggregate. América won 5–3 on penalties.

Portmore United 1–2 Cruz Azul
 Report
Referee: Reon Radix (Grenada)
Cruz Azul 4–0 Portmore United
 Report
Referee: Drew Fischer (Canada)

Cruz Azul won 6–1 on aggregate.

León 2–0 Los Angeles FC
 Report
Referee: Ismael Cornejo (El Salvador)
Los Angeles FC 3–0 León
 Report
Attendance: 22,300
Referee: Mario Escobar (Guatemala)

Los Angeles FC won 3–2 on aggregate.

Alianza 2–1 UANL
 Report
  • Sánchez  34'
Referee: Daneon Parchment (Jamaica)
UANL 4–2 Alianza
 Report
Referee: Saíd Martínez (Honduras)

UANL won 5–4 on aggregate.

San Carlos 3–5 New York City FC
 Report
New York City FC 1–0 San Carlos
 Report
Attendance: 4,396
Referee: John Pitti (Panama)

New York City FC won 6–3 on aggregate.

Olimpia 2–2 Seattle Sounders FC
 Report
Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón (Costa Rica)
Seattle Sounders FC 2–2 Olimpia
 Report
Penalties
 2–4
Attendance: 34,016
Referee: Iván Barton (El Salvador)

Tied 4–4 on aggregate. Olimpia won 4–2 on penalties.

Saprissa 2–2 Montreal Impact
 Report
Referee: Kimbell Ward (Saint Kitts & Nevis)
Montreal Impact 0–0 Saprissa
Report
Attendance: 21,505
Referee: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico)

Tied 2–2 on aggregate. Montreal Impact won on away goals.

Quarter-finals

In the quarter-finals, the matchups were determined as follows:

  • QF1: Winner R16-1 vs. Winner R16-2
  • QF2: Winner R16-3 vs. Winner R16-4
  • QF3: Winner R16-5 vs. Winner R16-6
  • QF4: Winner R16-7 vs. Winner R16-8

The winners of round of 16 matchups 1, 3, 5 and 7 host the second leg.

Summary

The first legs were played on 10–11 March, with the final match originally scheduled to be played on 12 March, and the second legs were originally scheduled to be played on 17–18 March 2020.[18]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
América QF1 Atlanta United FC 3–0 TBD
Los Angeles FC QF2 Cruz Azul TBD TBD
New York City FC QF3 UANL 0–1 TBD
Montreal Impact QF4 Olimpia 1–2 TBD

Matches
América 3–0 Atlanta United FC
 Report
Referee: John Pitti (Panama)
New York City FC 0–1 UANL
Report
Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón (Costa Rica)
Montreal Impact 1–2 Olimpia
 Report
Referee: Adonai Escobedo (Mexico)

Semi-finals

In the semi-finals, the matchups are determined as follows:

  • SF1: Winner QF1 vs. Winner QF2
  • SF2: Winner QF3 vs. Winner QF4

The semi-finalists in each tie which have the better performance in previous rounds host the second leg.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Host
1 (SF1) Winner QF1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2nd leg
2 (SF1) Winner QF2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1st leg
1 (SF2) Winner QF3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2nd leg
2 (SF2) Winner QF4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1st leg
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Away goals scored; 5) Wins; 6) Away wins; 7) Disciplinary points; 8) Drawing of lots (Regulations Article 12.9.5).[1]

Summary

The first legs were originally scheduled to be played on 7–9 April, the second legs were originally scheduled to be played on 14–16 April 2020.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Winner QF2 SF1[†] Winner QF1 TBD TBD
Winner QF4 SF2[†] Winner QF3 TBD TBD
  1. † Order of legs to be decided, with the semi-finalists in each tie which have the better performance in previous rounds hosting the second leg.

Matches
Lower-ranked Winner QF1/QF2 v Higher-ranked Winner QF1/QF2
Report
Higher-ranked Winner QF1/QF2 v Lower-ranked Winner QF1/QF2
Report
Lower-ranked Winner QF3/QF4 v Higher-ranked Winner QF3/QF4
Report
Higher-ranked Winner QF3/QF4 v Lower-ranked Winner QF3/QF4
Report

Final

In the final (Winner SF1 vs. Winner SF2), the finalists which have the better performance in previous rounds host the second leg.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Host
1 Winner SF1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2nd leg
2 Winner SF2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1st leg
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Away goals scored; 5) Wins; 6) Away wins; 7) Disciplinary points; 8) Drawing of lots (Regulations Article 12.9.5).[1]

Summary

The first leg was originally scheduled to be played on 28–30 April, the second leg was originally scheduled to be played on 5–7 May 2020.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Winner SF2 F[†] Winner SF1 TBD TBD
  1. † Order of legs to be decided, with the finalists which have the better performance in previous rounds hosting the second leg.

Matches
Lower-ranked Winner SF1/SF2 v Higher-ranked Winner SF1/SF2
Report
Higher-ranked Winner SF1/SF2 v Lower-ranked Winner SF1/SF2
Report

Top goalscorers
As of 11 March 2020
  Team eliminated for this round.
Rank Player Team By round Total
goals
1R1 1R2 QF1 QF2 SF1 SF2  F1   F2 
1 Héber New York City FC 3 3
2 Gonzalo Martínez Atlanta United FC 2 2
Lucas Passerini Cruz Azul 11
João Paulo Seattle Sounders FC 11
Justin Arboleda Olimpia 2
Juan Carlos Portillo Alianza 2
André-Pierre Gignac UANL 2
Carlos Vela Los Angeles FC 2
Alexander Callens New York City FC 11
Josef Martínez Atlanta United FC 11

Source: CONCACAF[19]

See also

Notes
  1. New York City FC played their round of 16 and quarter-final home matches at Red Bull Arena, Harrison instead of their regular home stadium Yankee Stadium and backup stadium Citi Field, both in New York City, since both stadiums were undergoing unavoidable winterization procedures.[17]
  2. All matches originally scheduled starting from 12 March 2020 have been suspended by CONCACAF due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America.[3][4]

References
  1. "Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League 2020 Regulations" (PDF). CONCACAF.
  2. "Concacaf Announces Scotiabank Concacaf League Expansion". www.concacafleague.com. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  3. "Concacaf suspends Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League with immediate effect". CONCACAF Champions League. 12 March 2020.
  4. "Concacaf suspends all its competitions scheduled to take place over the next 30 days". CONCACAF. 13 March 2020.
  5. "Concacaf launches plan to resume suspended Club Competitions". www.concacaf.com. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  6. "CONCACAF Announces Expanded CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship for 2018". CONCACAF. 15 December 2017.
  7. "Details revealed for newly launched Scotiabank CONCACAF League". CONCACAF League. 8 May 2017.
  8. "2020 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Draw to Take Place in Mexico City on December 9". CONCACAF Champions League. 10 October 2019.
  9. "Draw Delivers Matchups for 2020 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Round of 16 Matches". CONCACAF Champions League. 9 December 2019.
  10. "Official Draw Procedures and Pots Announced for 2020 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League". CONCACAF Champions League. 13 November 2019.
  11. "Q&A: Club Index for 2018 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League Draw". CONCACAF.com. 29 November 2017.
  12. "SCCL How Clubs Qualify". CONCACAF Champions League. 9 October 2019.
  13. "2020 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Ranking" (PDF). CONCACAF.
  14. "How Teams Qualify" (PDF). CONCACAF.
  15. "2020 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Schedule" (PDF). CONCACAF. 13 February 2020.
  16. "2020 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Round of 16 Schedule Announced". CONCACAF Champions League. 20 December 2019.
  17. "Red Bull Arena to Host Round of 16 Match in the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League". New York City FC. 7 February 2020.
  18. "2020 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Quarterfinal Matchups and Schedule Confirmed". CONCACAF Champions League. 28 February 2020.
  19. "Statistics". CONCACAF League.
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