Concacaf announced on Tuesday a new and expanded Concacaf Champions League format beginning in the spring of 2024. The event will feature 27 teams, with 22 teams entering in Round One and a further five entering at the Round of 16 stage to join the 11 first-round winners.
As well as the domestic leagues of MLS, Liga MX and the Canadian Premier League, participants will come from three regional cup competitions that will occur in the fall of 2023.
Three of those places will come from an expanded Leagues Cup that from 2023 will feature every team from MLS and Liga MX competing over a unique month-long tournament. The other places will come from a new Concacaf Central America Cup and a new Concacaf Caribbean Cup.
The qualifiers will be broken down as follows:
Round One
- 4 x MLS clubs
- 2 x Leagues Cup clubs (runner-up and third-place team)
- 5 x Liga MX clubs
- 2 x Canadian Premier League clubs
- 1 x U.S. Open Cup winner
- 1 x Canadian Championship winner
- 5 x Central America Cup clubs (runner-up, two losing semifinalists and two play-in winners)
- 2 x Caribbean Cup (second-place and third-place finishers)
Round of 16
- 1 x MLS Cup winner
- 1 x Leagues Cup winner
- 1 x Liga MX winner
- 1 x Central American Cup winner
- 1 x Caribbean Cup winner
Format
Round One, the Round of 16, Quarterfinals and Semifinals of the new Concacaf Champions League will all be contested over home-and-away series.
The final will be a one-off game in a single location, played on a weekend date.
“This is a hugely significant development for Concacaf and for leagues and clubs in our region," said Concacaf President and FIFA Vice President Victor Montagliani in Tuesday's release. "The Concacaf Champions League has consistently grown in recent years and this new format will provide a major boost to the competition. Working collaboratively with our stakeholders we have been able to create a new calendar which grows and enhances our Champions League and fully incorporates regional cup competitions,"
“This will elevate clubs and leagues from Concacaf and provide even more compelling regional rivalries. It will also provide more international relevance to our club competitions, and a very competitive pathway as clubs strive to qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup and succeed on the global stage," added Montagliani.
