2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League

2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League
2016–17 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League
Tournament details
Dates	TBA August 2016 – TBA 2017
Teams	24 (from 12 associations)
	← 2015–16 2017–18 →

The 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2016–17 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons)^[1]^[2] will be the 9th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 52nd edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

The winners of the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League will qualify as the CONCACAF representative at the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.^[3] América won the previous two tournaments, but did not qualify for this tournament and will not have the opportunity to defend their title.

Qualification

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Location of teams of the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League

North American Zone

Central American Zone

Caribbean Zone

A total of 24 teams participate in the CONCACAF Champions League: nine from the North American Zone (from three associations), twelve from the Central American Zone (from at most seven associations), and three from the Caribbean Zone (from at most three associations).^[3] Therefore, a maximum of 13 out of the 41 CONCACAF member associations may participate in the tournament.

Clubs may be disqualified and replaced by a club from another association if the club does not have an available stadium that meets CONCACAF regulations for safety. If a club's own stadium fails to meet the set standards then it may find a suitable replacement stadium within its own country. However, if it is still determined that the club cannot provide the adequate facilities then it runs the risk of being replaced.

North America

Nine teams from the North American Football Union (NAFU) qualify to the Champions League. The allocation to the three NAFU member associations is as follows: four berths for each of Mexico and the United States, and one berth for Canada.

For Mexico, the winners and runners-up of the Liga MX Apertura and Clausura tournaments earn berths in Pot 3 of the tournament's group stage. If a team reaches both tournament finals, the vacated berth is reallocated through regular season record.

For the United States, three berths are allocated through the Major League Soccer (MLS) regular season and playoffs, to the MLS Cup winner and the regular season Eastern Conference and Western Conference winners (if U.S.-based); the fourth berth is allocated to the winner of its domestic cup competition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. All four teams are placed in Pot 3. If a team qualifies through multiple berths, or if any of the MLS berths are taken by a Canada-based MLS team, the berth is reallocated to the best U.S.-based team in the Supporters' Shield table which has failed to otherwise qualify.

For Canada, the winner of the domestic cup competition, the Voyageurs Cup competed for in the Canadian Championship, earns the lone Canadian berth into the tournament, in Pot 2 (moved from Pot 1 in the previous edition).^[4]

Central America

Twelve teams from the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) qualify to the Champions League. The allocation to the seven UNCAF member associations is as follows: two berths for each of Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama and El Salvador, and one berth for each of Nicaragua and Belize. The teams from Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, and the first team from Panama are placed in Pot 2, and the second team from Panama and the teams from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Belize are placed in Pot 1 (second team from Panama moved from Pot 2 in the previous edition).

All of these leagues employ a split season with two tournaments in one year, so both tournament champions qualify if there are two available berths (if the same team wins both tournaments, the runner-up with the better aggregate record also qualifies), or the champion with the better aggregate record qualifies if there is only one available berth.

If one or more clubs is precluded, it is supplanted by a club from another Central American association. The reallocation is based on results from previous Champions League tournaments.

Caribbean

Three teams from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) qualify to the Champions League. The three berths, in Pot 1, are allocated to the top three finishers of the CFU Club Championship, a subcontinental tournament open to clubs from the 31 CFU member associations. In order for a team to qualify for the CFU Club Championship, they usually need to finish as the champion or runner-up of their respective association's league in the previous season, but professional teams may also be selected by their associations if they play in the league of another country.

If any Caribbean club is precluded, it is supplanted by the fourth place finisher from the CFU Club Championship.

Teams

The following 24 teams (from 12 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).

Association	Team	Pot	Qualifying method	App	Last App	Previous Best
North America (9 teams)
Mexico 4 berths	UANL	3	2015 Apertura champions	3rd	2015–16	Runners-up (2015–16)
	Pachuca		2016 Clausura champions	3rd	2014–15	Champions (2009–10)
	UNAM		2015 Apertura runners-up	4th	2011–12	Semifinals (2 times)
	Monterrey		2016 Clausura runners-up	4th	2012–13	Champions (3 times)
United States 4 berths	Portland Timbers		2015 MLS Cup champions	2nd	2014–15	Group stage (2014–15)
	New York Red Bulls		2015 MLS Supporters' Shield champions	3rd	2014–15	Group stage (2014–15)
	FC Dallas		2015 MLS Western Conference regular season champions	2nd	2011–12	Group stage (2011–12)
	Sporting Kansas City		2015 U.S. Open Cup champions	3rd	2014–15	Quarterfinals (2013–14)
Canada 1 berth	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	2	2015 Canadian Championship champions	2nd	2015–16	Group stage (2015–16)
Central America (12 teams)
Costa Rica 2 berths	Saprissa	2	2015 Invierno champions	6th	2015–16	Semifinals (2010–11)
Costa Rica 2 berths	Herediano		2016 Verano champions	7th	2015–16	Semifinals (2014–15)
Honduras 2 berths	Honduras Progreso		2015 Apertura champions	1st	N/A	N/A
Honduras 2 berths	Olimpia		2016 Clausura champions	9th	2015–16	Quarterfinals (2 times)
Guatemala 2 berths	Antigua		2015 Apertura champions	1st	N/A	N/A
Guatemala 2 berths	Suchitepéquez		2016 Clausura champions	1st	N/A	N/A
Panama 2 berths	Árabe Unido		2015 Apertura champions	5th	2015–16	Quarterfinals (2 times)
Panama 2 berths	Plaza Amador	1	2016 Clausura champions	1st	N/A	N/A
El Salvador 2 berths	Alianza		2015 Apertura champions	2nd	2011–12	Preliminary round (2011–12)
El Salvador 2 berths	Dragón		2016 Clausura champions	1st	N/A	N/A
Nicaragua 1 berth	Real Estelí		Champions with better aggregate record in 2015–16 season	6th	2014–15	Group stage (3 times)
Belize 1 berth	Police United		Champions with better aggregate record in 2015–16 season	1st	N/A	N/A
Caribbean (3 teams)
Trinidad and Tobago 2 teams	Central	1	2016 CFU Club Championship champions	2nd	2015–16	Group stage (2015–16)
Trinidad and Tobago 2 teams	W Connection		2016 CFU Club Championship runners-up	5th	2015–16	Group stage (4 times)
Haiti 1 team	Don Bosco		2016 CFU Club Championship third place	1st	N/A	N/A

Draw

The draw for the tournament was held on May 30, 2016, 20:00 EDT (UTC−4), at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.^[5]^[6]^[7]

The 24 teams were drawn into eight groups of three, with each group containing one team from each of the three pots. Teams from the same association (excluding "wildcard" teams which replace a team from another association) could not be drawn with each other in the group stage, and teams from Mexico and the United States had to be drawn into separate groups.^[3]

The allocation of teams to each pot was based on the results of the last four editions of the competition under the current format:^[5]

Pot 1 contained the second team from Panama, two teams from El Salvador, one team each from Nicaragua and Belize, and three teams from the Caribbean.
Pot 2 contained two teams each from Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala, the first team from Panama, and one team from Canada.
Pot 3 contained four teams each from Mexico and the United States.

Pot 1
Plaza Amador	Alianza	Dragón	Real Estelí
Police United	Central	W Connection	Don Bosco
Pot 2
Herediano	Saprissa	Olimpia	Honduras Progreso
Suchitepéquez	Antigua	Árabe Unido	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Pot 3
UANL	Pachuca	UNAM	Monterrey
Portland Timbers	New York Red Bulls	FC Dallas	Sporting Kansas City

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.

Stage	Round	First leg	Second leg
Group stage	Matchday 1
	Matchday 2
	Matchday 3
	Matchday 4
	Matchday 5
	Matchday 6
Knockout stage	Quarterfinals
	Semifinals
	Finals

Group stage

In the group stage, each group is played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners of each group advance to the quarterfinals.^[3]

Tiebreakers
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order (Regulations, II. D. Tie-Breaker Procedures):^[3] Greater number of points earned in matches between the teams concerned; Greater goal difference in matches between the teams concerned; Greater number of goals scored away from home in matches between the teams concerned; Greater goal difference in all group matches; Greater number of goals scored in group matches; Greater number of goals scored away in all group matches; Drawing of lots.