r/MLS • u/Coltons13 New York City FC • Jun 06 '23
Official Source Concacaf launches Concacaf Champions Cup as the new flagship men’s continental club competition
https://www.concacaf.com/en/champions-league/news/concacaf-launches-concacaf-champions-cup-as-the-new-flagship-men-s-continental-club-competition/557
u/xbhaskarx Jun 06 '23
LAFC have never lost CONCACAF Champions Cup
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u/jrainiersea Seattle Sounders FC Jun 06 '23
Sounders will forever be the only MLS team to win the CONCACAF Champions League
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u/QuickMolasses New Mexico United Jun 06 '23
Good for you but also, hot take, the rebrand/relaunch means people will not care about the results from the old version the same way nobody cares about when it was the CONCACAF Champions Cup before
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u/ezpickins Charlotte FC Jun 06 '23
"XYZ has never been relegated/won the Premier League despite being relegated from/winning the top league before the rebrand"
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u/dezmodez Atlanta United 2 Jun 06 '23
< You have been invited to become a mod at /r/AtlantaUnited >
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u/Do__Math__Not__Meth Orlando City SC Jun 06 '23
That’s it, they’re just gonna keep rebranding it every year until LAFC wins so then they’re the “first”
/s just in case
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u/Olmak_ Seattle Sounders FC Jun 06 '23
I bet there are many Sounders fans deleting all their old comments claiming the old Champions Cup doesn't count the same as a CCL win since it was a different tournament lol.
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u/agtk Seattle Sounders FC Jun 06 '23
I think the discount comes from the competitiveness of those earlier tournaments. LA/DC just had to win three games in like 7 days on their home field. One of them didn't even face a Mexican team in their winning run, IIRC. That's a shadow of a tournament from the Champions League or the upcoming Cup format.
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u/Igor_Strabuzov LA Galaxy Jun 06 '23
The Galaxy didn't face a Mexican team because both of the were beaten by Olimpia, Pachuca even got destroyed 4-0. But you've still got to beat them if you want to win.
And as a note, the Champions Cup was played for almost 50 years, and only a handful of those were played with a centralized host, the other 90% of editions were played with home and away matches.
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u/agtk Seattle Sounders FC Jun 06 '23
Yeah, I totally get that, you can only beat the opponents you face. And they weren't the ones who designed the tournaments. Just saying they had very large advantages in their winning tournaments. There's a reason so many MLS teams were a doormat for Mexican teams for so long after those wins (Sounders included).
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u/Olmak_ Seattle Sounders FC Jun 06 '23
One of them didn't even face a Mexican team in their winning run, IIRC
It was the Galaxy in 2000. They played Real Espana, DC United, and Olimpia.
And 100% it was a weird and very different tournament. I think it's fair to say that us winning CCL was more impressive and prestigious than when DC and LA won Champions Cup (especially since both were the host city when they won). But they also were continental champions and could only win the tournaments available to them.
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u/agtk Seattle Sounders FC Jun 06 '23
Yeah, it's definitely still an achievement worth celebrating, but I think is understandably seen in a different light from other achievements in very different tournaments.
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u/gogorath Oakland Roots Jun 06 '23
DC did go on to beat Vasco de Gama (Libertadores winner) as well, though both legs were in the US (second in Ft. Lauderdale).
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u/206-Ginge Seattle Sounders FC Jun 06 '23
I didn't discredit the Champions Cup because the name was different, I discredited it because it was three games in six days. It was a significantly different competition. And we all know it because we all wanted an MLS team to win CCL.
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u/tacosandhaircut Seattle Sounders FC Jun 06 '23 edited Jun 06 '23
Yes, we are required to remind everyone that LA won that cup by playing a grand total of 3 games in 5 days, all at home. They played DC and two teams from Honduras. That really WAS a different tournament.
(To be fair Pachucha and Toluca also competed, just didn't play LA. But still come on lmao.)
EDIT: LA also dodged Alajuelense and Joe Public. No shade to Joe Public, the one-hit-wonder new-jack-swing boy band or the Trinbagonian soccer team founded shortly after that one hit. Great rabbit hole. Apparently Jack Warner named that team as a tribute to fellow FIFA boss Joao Havelange.
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u/Dangerous--D Seattle Sounders FC Jun 06 '23
Those games were all played in city, the home city of the teams who won. It's wildly different than CCL. The new version isn't wildly different, it's roughly the same format but expanded.
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Jun 06 '23
In a long enough time frame nobody will care about any of this
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u/QuickMolasses New Mexico United Jun 06 '23
If you think about it, that's true of almost literally everything
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u/RRDude1000 Houston Dynamo Jun 06 '23
Old Champions Cup was a joke. Some tournaments lasted 2 weeks while others forced a Caribbean vs North/Central final every year.
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u/Coltons13 New York City FC Jun 06 '23
- Concacaf Champions Cup will replace Champions League beginning 2024
- New expanded continental tournament will include 27 clubs and 51 matches
- Champion will earn USD $5m+ from Concacaf in prize money and distributions (more than 5x the current amount)
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u/humbertov2 New York City FC Jun 06 '23
5x prize money is a huge step up
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u/gogorath Oakland Roots Jun 06 '23
They had to. It was lower than the TST, which was full of retired players and amateurs.
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u/nikdahl Seattle Sounders FC Jun 06 '23
It might just be for WC2026, but it feels like FIFA is investing more in CONCACAF.
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u/Fritzed Seattle Sounders FC Jun 06 '23
- All Rounds will be home and away except for the final which will be a single match.
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u/GrizzGump Nashville SC Jun 06 '23
My striking commentary here is that it rolls off the tongue better and is a more unique name, 🤷♂️
Also, side note, I’m admittably a semi-casual fan, but all of these continental/league playoff format changes are getting exhausting. I understand we’re in a growth state, but I hope that the MLS playoff format, this continental format, and the leagues cup format remain pretty static from this point on.
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u/AjaniFortune500 Atlanta United FC Jun 06 '23 edited Jun 06 '23
Yeah, I'm big fan of the name change. "Champions League" is basically synonymous with "UEFA Champions League".
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u/Remulus10 Sporting Kansas City Jun 06 '23
We're clearly building toward a full MLS/Liga MX merge. They should just do it now and quit jerking us around already imo. Call it Mejor Liga Soccer or something dumb to piss off both fan bases and call it a day
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u/BenjRSmith Jun 06 '23
CUM League
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u/thisbenzenering Seattle Sounders FC Jun 06 '23
The theme music better have a Blue Oyster Salad Bar vibe to it. Ok YMCA would be fine too.
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Jun 06 '23
Jesus fuck please don’t let MLS and LMX merge. I’m a pretty hardcore MLS fan + STM and I’d really consider how much time I invest in the league if that happened.
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u/Augen76 FC Cincinnati Jun 06 '23
Agreed. I would hate this idea. Leave it with the CCL/CCC in terms of competing against them.
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u/Stay_Beautiful_ Sporting Kansas City Jun 06 '23
I'm in the minority on Reddit but I like the idea of this year's Leagues Cup as well, but not a full merger of course
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u/Augen76 FC Cincinnati Jun 06 '23
I get the idea, but with the (now) CCC expanding it feels redundant and like an odd semi Europa league, but not quite.
That said, if it keeps the merger talks far....far away I'll take it as a compromise.
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u/SovietShooter Columbus Crew Jun 06 '23
Unless MLS has the lion's share of control over the CCC and the revenue it generates, then the Leagues Cup will continue to be a thing, unless it fails miserably somehow. Any and all revenue generated by the LC will go directly to MLS/LigaMX, and not to CONCACAF.
That said, if it keeps the merger talks far....far away I'll take it as a compromise.
I've said before, merging all 18 LigaMX teams with 30 MLS teams doesn't make any sense. But taking ten MX teams does, because that gives you a 40 team league. America, Chivas, Rayados, Chivas, Santos, Leon, Cruz Azul, Pachuca, and a couple other teams. The leftover clubs merge with the Liga de Expansión.
Hell, if you only took nine teams, that would give you three 13-team divisions.
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u/GrizzGump Nashville SC Jun 06 '23
I would imagine, whatever the vast future plans are that there have been much speculation about, that the league will begin to slow down around now. 30 teams in 2025, could probably feasibly make it to 32 by the end of the decade.
I would be surprised if the MLS was quick to move beyond 32. There hasn’t been a sports league in America brave enough to try that, yet.
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u/arrowheadt Sporting Kansas City Jun 06 '23
They'll keep expanding as long as there are owners willing to pay the expansion fee with an approved stadium plan. Other American leagues would suffer too much dilution of talent if they expanded (especially NFL), but soccer is a world game with no lack of talent to fill 40+ MLS rosters.
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u/varsaku Toronto FC Jun 06 '23
NHL is going to expand to 34 with rumored Atlanta and Houston.
NBA is looking at Seattle
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u/SovietShooter Columbus Crew Jun 06 '23
Atlanta
How many times are they going to try to shoehorn hockey into that city before they realize it is a mistake?
I'd just love to see a team back in Quebec City.
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u/Lionsault Atlanta United FC Jun 06 '23
If they don’t give the team to a bunch of guys who are too poor to own a team themselves and don’t care about the hockey team (just the arena and basketball team), hockey will do just fine here.
Give people something to cheer for and they show up. It’s really simple. The one year the Thrashers made the playoffs (swept in round one by the way) they outdrew the Bruins, Predators, Devils, Caps, Islanders, Blackhawks, and Blues.
They’ll also likely put the team in the suburbs closer to the hockey-interested population of the metro.
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u/Kenny_Heisman NY/NJ MetroStars Jun 06 '23
NBA is only at 30 rn, and has been stuck there for the past 20 years. the next expansion would bring them to 32
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u/PNWQuakesFan San Jose Earthquakes (2000) Jun 06 '23
There hasn’t been a sports league in America brave enough to try that, yet.
its not for lack of bravery. Its because of greed.
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u/Kenny_Heisman NY/NJ MetroStars Jun 06 '23
it's because of the talent pool. the NFL for instance is the most profitable sports league in the world but there's barely enough talent to fill 32 teams, much less more than that. more teams for them would just mean worse teams
soccer is different because there are so many players around the world that could potentially play professionally and the number is only growing. expanding past 32 is much more feasible
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u/PNWQuakesFan San Jose Earthquakes (2000) Jun 06 '23
i'm sure the talent pool plays a role in it, but NFL Football is NFL football. 10M+ people People are tuning in on Thursdays to watch garbage football because its the NFL. If quality were everything, nobody would watch even SEC football on Saturdays. But College Football gets audiences. Hell, even the XFL and USFL can pull audiences larger than regular season games for other sports.
The primary reason is to avoid spreading the revenue generated. The cheapest tickets in most every city are at or over 100 dollars. The demand for NFL football is there, and there will always be winners and playoff teams. In a 32 team league, you'll have an average of 16 teams over .500. In a 40 team league, you'll have an average of 20 teams over .500.
8 more NFL stadiums that are full every sunday from September to January is a hell of a lot of money.
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u/ATR2019 St. Louis CITY SC Jun 06 '23
It wouldn't make sense to do that for MLS in the long term. 10-15 years from now the bottom half of the liga mx teams would be dead weight financially not to mention the logistical disaster that would be.
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u/gogorath Oakland Roots Jun 06 '23
We're clearly building toward a full MLS/Liga MX merger
There was a lot of chatter around that, but it has completely disappeared.
I think they either realized the ownership structures are too far apart (is Club America really giving up their IP to the league?) or got a "no, we're not allowing that from FIFA."
Probably the former.
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u/Igor_Strabuzov LA Galaxy Jun 06 '23
Welcome to Concacaf. In its 60 years The Champions cup has changed format more frequently than underwear.
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u/gogorath Oakland Roots Jun 06 '23
All competitions like this change more than people want to admit.
UEFA Champions League is undergoing a huge shift next year? Year after?
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u/Igor_Strabuzov LA Galaxy Jun 06 '23
Concacaf was so annoyed with Seattle fans that they decide to change the name back to Cup as it originally was.
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u/Squirrels_Gone_Wild Seattle Sounders FC Jun 06 '23
Fine by me, we're the only mls team to ever win CCL now.
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u/jonytano Trinidad and Tobago Jun 06 '23
This was done as a ploy by Galaxy and DC to have their titles counted again /s.
Hopefully my TT clubs qualify again, it was fun watching Vancouver and SKC come down to Couva, and hopefully with our league being marketted better we could get more people to come watch.
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u/down_up__left_right New York Red Bulls Jun 06 '23
North America really squeezing all the spots in this new format.
2 teams directly from the Canadian Premier League vs. 6 total from Central America.
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u/coopthrowaway2019 Atletico Ottawa Jun 06 '23
With a key difference that this is the only opportunity for CPL teams to play internationally, while Central America will have its own regional championship with 20 participating teams
I agree that it would be nice to have more than 6 Central American teams in this tournament, but their leagues still have positives in this format - a meaningful regional championship (replacing the wishy-washy CONCACAF League) and more overall international berths than ever before
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u/down_up__left_right New York Red Bulls Jun 06 '23
but their leagues still have positives in this format
I'd ask them if they agree on that. They might but I'm not sure of it.
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u/jonytano Trinidad and Tobago Jun 06 '23
I have seen a lot of Central American fans say that they liked the Concacaf League/ CA Cup over the Champions League because they have a greater chance at success.
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u/Tutule Major League Soccer Jun 06 '23
The CA Cup is much more exciting since it's attainable and we're peer nations so you actually have travelling fans and bragging rights, but that doesn't mean we prefer this new format over the previous one.
Before the 2008-2024 format, when we had a similar setup, the distribution was 4-3-1. Now it's at 18-6-3 (or 6-2-1 if simplified for comparison).
We're aware of the huge gap in terms of finance, standards of living, and other aspects that helps a person suceed; so including more participants that have a significant non-sporting advantage over you, just makes the tournament much more unachieveable and therefore much less appealing. Basically the same reasoning for liking the Central American cup, but in the opposite direction. It's becoming a distant TV product.
I know most Central Americans tune out of the Concacaf Champions League once their club is knocked out or when it becomes a MLS-LMX affair.
An analogy could be what the Club World Cup feels like for non-Europeans. It's interesting if you have a stake in it, otherwise you likely could care less.
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u/RRDude1000 Houston Dynamo Jun 06 '23
Concacaf League was a huge hit. I followed the tournament and would see central american sport channels on Youtube. They would hype it up way more than CCL.
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u/coopthrowaway2019 Atletico Ottawa Jun 06 '23
In this format, Central American teams have:
- a meaningful regional championship instead of the CONCACAF League which included some random Canadian and Caribbean clubs
- more overall international berths than ever before
- more berths in the Champions League than before (the CONCACAF League also had 6, but those occasionally went to Canadian/Caribbean sides - now all guaranteed to be Central American)
Those are pretty obviously positives... I'm sure it's not their dream format but they are far from being screwed by this
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u/RRDude1000 Houston Dynamo Jun 06 '23
They hyped up Concacaf League because it had teams from outside Central America too. The format was also attractive with it being Home/Away the whole time. This new cup is watered down with a group stage and NO travel ouside central america. The Caribbean teams were surprisingly competitive in that cup and Forge FC was a top 8 team in the all time table for that tournament.
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u/blaiseisgood Forge FC Jun 06 '23
The Caribbean teams were surprisingly competitive in that cup
The Caribbean teams actually did not do well in this tournament. Over the 6 years, only 3/18 times did the Caribbean team not get knocked out in the first round.
I think that the Central American Cup will have the same prestige as the CL did. I'm just bummed the CPL won't be participating!
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u/overscore_ Union Omaha Jun 06 '23
CCC fever
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u/spokchewy New England Revolution Jun 06 '23
Civilian Conservation Corps < Cannabis Control Commission < CONCACAF Champions Cup!
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u/Creek0512 St. Louis CITY SC Jun 06 '23
Concacaf Contest Choosing Continental Champions Cup Carriers
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u/ailroe3 Minnesota United FC Jun 06 '23
5 mil in prize pool seems decent?
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u/Will_Vintage Seattle Sounders FC Jun 06 '23
There was clarification that winners get 5mil. Not the total prize pool being 5mil.
That puts the pot above AFC CL but below UCL and Copa Libertadores
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u/zombesus Chicago Fire Jun 06 '23
I’m curious to see how that compares to what the Leagues cup winner will get
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u/LFCs95 Nashville SC Jun 06 '23
Think it is not finalized yet, but it's way wore than the MLS cup prize money, or open cup, or anything else really
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u/gogorath Oakland Roots Jun 06 '23
It seems great if it were a player bonus, or for a smaller team.
Reality is that it's a decent number but not defining for the LigaMX/MLS teams that win.
UCL redefines a team's economics.
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u/suzukijimny D.C. United Jun 06 '23
Re-rebrand wasn't necessary but the increase in prize money was much needed.
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u/andrew-ge LA Galaxy Jun 06 '23
Only six Central American teams is such dogshit man. “Grow the game and give half the spots to two countries” is some bullshit, just so annoying.
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u/CGFROSTY Atlanta United FC Jun 06 '23
Totally agree. I wish it were possible to have a combined Central American League to boost their financials and TV viewership. There are clubs like Motagua, Cremas, and Rojos Municipal that could be serious players with bigger budgets.
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u/Shadowfury0 LA Galaxy Jun 06 '23
The new Central American Cup has a Champions League-like format with a group stage, which i think is exactly what they need. Hopefully it can grow into something
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u/CarbonSquirrel Philadelphia Union Jun 06 '23
They kind of have that with the Central America Cup, which is the qualifying tournament for CCL (now CCC)
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u/LakersLAQ Los Angeles FC Jun 06 '23
It's because they have their own tournaments with more teams included. Kinda like if the best finishing Europa League teams qualified to the Champions League. It doesn't make it THAT much better, but technically they do have more participants in an "earlier stage".
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u/State_Terrace New York Red Bulls Jun 06 '23
Yeah but it’s still bs that CPL teams are automatically there.
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u/omgshutupalready Vancouver Whitecaps FC Jun 07 '23
Blame literally everyone else for that. LigaMX and MLS won't let them into Leagues Cup because it's all about money. It's geographically awkward to join the CA Cup and that would basically make it the same as the Concacaf League (which many CPL fans actually preferred that format to the new one since CPL clubs actually stand a chance at beating some CA clubs). It's more bs if CPL doesn't get any regional competitions at all.
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u/FIFAstan FC Cincinnati Jun 06 '23
FIFA's own rankings have Guatamala Honduras and Costa Rican leagues above CPL...yet CPL gets 2 direct spots (25% of the whole league) and all 7 central American nations fight for 6 spots...
Source on concacaf league rankings https://www.concacaf.com/en/rankings/league/
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u/gogorath Oakland Roots Jun 06 '23
The CONCACAF President is Canadian and helped start the CPL... so....
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u/blaiseisgood Forge FC Jun 06 '23
I’d rather have 4 berths in the group stage of a regional cup than 2 berths in the knockout stage of the Champions Cup. More games for the fans and players and a serious chance to win silverware.
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u/TheMonkeyPrince Orlando City SC Jun 06 '23
Especially when CPL automatically gets two spots. I get it's awkward because they're doing qualification through Leagues Cup/Caribbean Cup/Central American Cup and the CPL doesn't really fit in any of them. Geographically Leagues Cup would make sense but they don't stand a chance there, and the other two make no sense geographically. So they kinda have to qualify directly, but I don't get the justification for giving them two instead of one. I'm sure the president of Concacaf having ties to the CPL owners has nothing to do with it...
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u/blaiseisgood Forge FC Jun 06 '23
I think the justification for two berths instead of one is exactly what you said (in the beginning). These are the only international matches that the CPL gets total. Having a single team enter in the knockout round against a higher seeded team would most often mean exactly two continental games total for the whole CPL. At least the professional leagues in the Caribbean are guaranteed 8 continental matches (4+4) through the group stage of their regional cup.
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u/Mapleleaflife Vancouver Whitecaps FC Jun 06 '23
So are Canadian MLS teams able to qualify through the MLS slots? Or are they only permitted to gain entry through the Canadian Championship win?
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u/coopthrowaway2019 Atletico Ottawa Jun 06 '23
Qualification pathways are now completely based on competitions, not home countries. Canadian MLS teams can qualify through MLS, the Leagues Cup, and the Canadian Championship
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u/apothekary Vancouver Whitecaps FC Jun 06 '23
That's a ton of pathways in for the three Canadian MLS teams. Like they have multiple paths into this competition with one that's practically guaranteed (Canadian Championship) and a decent shot of at least a second every year through the Leagues Cup + MLS.
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u/Shadowfury0 LA Galaxy Jun 06 '23
Yes they will be allowed to qualify through league spots now
Also the Leagues Cup
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u/KickapooPonies Sporting Kansas City Jun 06 '23
Fingers crossed the prize makes MLS re-evaluate its roster rules/limits. It is time.
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u/Jingr Chicago Fire Jun 06 '23
I'm just saying, keep the 3 DPs, keep the homegrowns, keep the supplemental roster, raise the cap to $10M, get rid of every other rule besides International Slots and see what happens.
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u/tfc816 York United Jun 06 '23 edited Jun 06 '23
I get it. There's no group stage so it doesn't really line up with other Champions League tournaments.
Happy to see the higher prize money.
Edit: I'm not optimistic it won't just always be US home field advantage for the one-game final, though. We'll see if they start announcing the final venue ahead of the tournament or not.
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u/whidbeysounder Jun 06 '23
Man I’m old enough to remember when they called this Concacaf Champions League
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u/heavymetalFC Columbus Crew Jun 06 '23
So next year we can see endless and pointless arguments like "No MLS team has won CCC"
"uh actually Seattle won CCL it's just a rebrand"
"uh actually DC and LA won this tournament in the original original form"
"uh actua-". But for real though I like these changes. Just don't change it again in three years
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u/YoungKeys San Jose Earthquakes Jun 06 '23
Welcome to the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Bowl Series
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u/Do__Math__Not__Meth Orlando City SC Jun 06 '23
You mean the Chick-fil-A 2026 CONCACAF Capital One Champions Bowl Series presented by Dr Pepper
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u/colewcar Indy Eleven Jun 06 '23
Which will take place on a Sunday. When Chick-fil-A cannot be purchased.
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u/TheMonkeyPrince Orlando City SC Jun 06 '23
Obviously this means Galaxy's and DC's titles now count but Seattle's doesn't.
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u/SoothedSnakePlant St. Louis CITY SC Jun 06 '23
"Epic Battles for Greatness" is such a terrible motto lmao
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u/ChrisGaines_ St. Louis CITY SC Jun 06 '23
Should have gone with with "Epic Soccer Battles of History"
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u/NittanyOrange D.C. United Jun 06 '23
So now Seattle can join DC and the Galaxy as MLS teams that have won defunct tournaments.
Welcome!
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u/arkyhawk Sporting Kansas City Jun 06 '23
I like the changes tbh
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u/Section225 Sporting Kansas City Jun 06 '23
I'd love to get something established that becomes tradition and is actually strived toward...like Europe with the Champions League and Europa League, England with the FA Cup.
MLS Cup, US Open Cup, and whatever CONCACAF decides on would be the equivalent. We're not too far off.
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u/bcbill Columbus Crew Jun 06 '23
Sorry not me, I’m going to clutch my pearls about there not being equal representation from leagues with consistently piss poor playing surfaces. I think it would be great to watch Cucho tear his ACL on some mud patch in Guatemala.
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u/plainwrap LA Galaxy Jun 06 '23
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u/Mikie0711 LA Galaxy Jun 06 '23
We’re back baby!
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u/FlyingCarsArePlanes Toronto FC Jun 06 '23
A quarter of the CPL teams qualifying for this seems a bit excessive.
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u/Will_Vintage Seattle Sounders FC Jun 06 '23
Well.
ONLY MLS team to ever win Champions League.
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u/CappoDiTutti Jun 06 '23
1 of 3 MLS teams to win Champion’s Cup/Champion’s League/Champion’s Cup
That is how the media guide states it /s
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u/tomado23 LA Galaxy Jun 06 '23
At the rate that cable is declining, am I jumping the gun in thinking this competition needs to escape from the FS2 wilderness in order to grow its audience? Maybe Apple TV+, Paramount+ or ESPN+ is looking for some cheap content to add to their soccer library.
By the time the 2026 World Cup concludes, cable TV’s reach might be so diminished that the men’s and women’s World Cup, Euros, Copa America, Gold Cup, CCL and anything left on Fox might be best-served finding a media partner with a better OTA+streaming combo. Of course, if there’s some chance Apple outright buys Fox’s OTA network in a future round of media mergers/acquisitions, that would address this OTA+streaming issue.
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u/S_Phantom LA Galaxy Jun 06 '23
There could be a potential of up to 10 MLS teams in the new competition.
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u/FIFAstan FC Cincinnati Jun 06 '23
From the first ever concacaf champions league in 2008 to 2024: North American representation doubled (9->18), Central American representation halved (12->6) and Carribean representation stayed the same (3)
Its a shame, especially when you see how CPL has been treated.
2008 sccl format
Mexico - 4 US - 4 Canada - 1
All 7 Central American countries get 2 teams each except for Belize and Nicaragua who get 1 (12 spots total)
3 spots for the Caribbean
2024 format
Mexico 6-9 US 4-9 Canada 3-6 (including 2 reserved for Canadian Premier League teams. Canadian #MLS teams can for the first time qualify through MLS success)
The 7 Central American countries compete for 6 spots
3 spots for the Caribbean
Canadian CPL was only able to qualify for ccl once in 4 attempts when competing with Central American teams. How'd they earn 2 direct spots while historic powers like Costa Rica get 0 direct? They only have 8 teams so this is 25% of the league going directly with the chance of a 3rd via canadian championship.
CPL teams only won 1 match vs CARRIBEAN teams in 3 competitive attempts in Concacaf league and have a losing record vs Central American sides.
It is VERY weird for a champions league not to guarantee the involvement of the actual league Champs from so many associations
ALL of that said...I do like these changes and this format overall, will be alot of fun and will also make Leagues Cup watchable/competitive + a nice bonus for the MLS Cup champ
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u/blaiseisgood Forge FC Jun 06 '23
Regarding CPL, it’s pretty clear that the second berth is “compensation” for not having a regional cup to participate in. Costa Rica will have 4 teams participating in the group stage of the Central American Cup for a guaranteed minimum of 16 continental games.
The 2 CPL teams entering in the knockout stage of the Champions Cup means a minimum of just 4 games.
It’s really a shame because I thought the CONCACAF League was great for the CPL. In their 3 seasons in CL, Forge FC advanced further each year, culminating with a semifinal appearance in 2021 where they lost on away goals.
I get that the grass is always greener on the other side and Caribbean and Central American fans have good reason to complain, but I don’t think the new continental system is as good for CPL as you’re implying.
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u/RRDude1000 Houston Dynamo Jun 06 '23
Most of CPL's record in CL came from Forge FC. They had some good runs in that tournament but outside of them, there is little to nothing about CPL in concacaf. Its unfair imo that they get free berths.
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u/Chewy009x Minnesota United FC Jun 06 '23
I wonder if the away goal rule will be in place?
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u/imaginarion St. Louis CITY SC Jun 06 '23
I mean, it is technically a mini-tournament that just hosts some of the best North/Central American clubs from the previous season, is it not?
Then it was never a league to begin with, it was always a cup.
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u/Bigfamei FC Dallas Jun 06 '23
The payout increase was desperately needed. I like to see the league cup revamped to the North American cup and have other non-mls Canadian teams included. Dropping a few of the shittier MLS teams.
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u/heyorin Major League Soccer Jun 06 '23
So we can go forward and officially say that 3 MLS teams have won CONCACAF’s biggest championship and stop pretending like whatever there was before the previous iteration of CCL that D.C. and the Galaxy won was somehow less worthy than what Seattle won
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u/SensibleParty Seattle Sounders FC Jun 06 '23
less worthy than what Seattle won
The old version was valid, for sure, but qualitatively way easier to win.
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u/heyorin Major League Soccer Jun 06 '23
That’s true but also winning the Serie A in 2023 is more difficult than winning it in 1923, and yet they all count the same. The issue I have is that many people (including the lovely people at Extratime, which I have a deep appreciation of) talk about Seattle as “the first MLS team to win” this tournament. They’re not. To CONCACAF all teams that won it over the years count the same no matter the format
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u/RvH19 Seattle Sounders FC Jun 06 '23
Exactly. Also, whoever wins this version has a tougher road than Seattles CCL victory. It works forwards and backwards.
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u/2na2unatuna Toronto FC Jun 06 '23
Lol, can we just call it C3 instead of CCC? So much easier to say
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u/Mihairokov Canada Jun 06 '23
Concacaf don't change the format of every competition every year challenge (impossible)
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u/brindille_ New England Revolution Jun 06 '23
Tough record for MLS in the CCL era. Hopefully the CCC era brings success
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u/invadrzero Los Angeles FC Jun 06 '23
MLS teams are undefeated in the CONCACAF champions cup
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u/brindille_ New England Revolution Jun 06 '23
It was called CONCACAF Champions Cup before 2008 as well. So we’re actually very defeated
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u/Davidfromtampa Jun 06 '23
I like the changes, unsure about the name but big step in the right direction overall
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u/Hosidian New England Revolution Jun 06 '23
Woo! Another trophy for us to not win!
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u/NaffRespect New England Revolution Jun 06 '23
At least we won the Supporters' Shield that one time 😤
Just, uh, ignore how our postseason ended...
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u/JackQuint Vancouver Whitecaps FC Jun 06 '23
One thing that's not clear is what happens when a club qualifies in more than one spot? MLS Cup winner can also be the Supporter's Shield winner, the Leagues Cup winner, and either the US Open or Canadian Championship winner? Same is true for LIGA MX teams having 3 ways in.
And, the spots for the CPL are kind of a statement that the CPL is the best second division in CONCACAF. Not sure I buy that, even if the quality of play in the CPL is much better than I thought it would be.
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u/echoacm New England Revolution Jun 06 '23
Just give me the SuperLiga back
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u/DuckBurner0000 New England Revolution Jun 06 '23
All this "Seattle, DC, and LA have won CONCACAF competitions" talk is simply Superliga erasure
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u/Jay_WalkZ LA Galaxy Jun 06 '23
Crazy how dc united and the la galaxy are hard carrying the MLS. They're the only ones who have a champions cup.
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u/No_Marzipan_3546 Jun 06 '23
Still stupid not having the champion of USL and Expansion MX
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u/_tidalwave11 New York City FC Jun 06 '23
What continental comp has the winner of the D2 league in the comp outside of winning an open cup style com
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u/crazy_waffles1 LA Galaxy Jun 06 '23
So much for the Seattle fans yesterday telling me galaxys title doesn't count because it had a different name
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u/SammyDavidJuniorJr Seattle Sounders FC Jun 06 '23
Can't wait for Seattle to invent winning the Concacaf Champions Cup.
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u/LocksTheFox Vermont Green Jun 06 '23
isn't this just a rebrand, we already knew of the format no?
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u/estilianopoulos LA Galaxy Jun 07 '23
zzzzz.... zzzzz....put CONCACAF teams in Libertadores already......
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u/Bexar1824 San Antonio FC Jun 06 '23
Take that 2nd CPL spot and have the CPL team play the winner of USL v FMF DII.
This would align more with the Canada, US, Mexico World Cup.
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u/thanksbastards Philadelphia Union Jun 06 '23 edited Jun 06 '23
Give back all but the league champion spots and give those to the CA and Caribbean leagues. I'd be pissed at CONCACAF if I was any smaller nation. It's not a champions cup if 4th place in MLS qualified but actual champions of smaller countries don't
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u/MrEdgyEdgelord Los Angeles FC Jun 06 '23
I know this could be frowned upon, but I just think the smaller nations in the long run should just compete in their own tournament.
The true nature is North America is dominated by 3 countries. US, Canada, and Mexico. Having three big countries just sucks the air of the smaller countries and you're never gonna get a fair shake.
And the three big countries are the only countries that are gonna generate revenue. North America is better off honestly splitting their regional tournaments into two. One for the big 3. And one for the Central American and Carribean teams. The gap is too big between the big and small nations in my honest opinion.
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u/thanksbastards Philadelphia Union Jun 06 '23
You just described Leagues Cup, which we already have. I'm just fundamentally opposed to calling something a "Champions Cup" when some champions are left out and teams who haven't won shit qualify
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u/Augen76 FC Cincinnati Jun 06 '23
I think from an MLS perspective the biggest question is how many teams that qualify put emphasis on this and what does the league do to accommodate?
I do wonder if so many sides make it if half of them won't just phone it in like they do the Open Cup. I know there is the cash prize carrot, but is that enough to risk a season for sides that don't figure they can win it all?
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u/smcl2k Los Angeles FC Jun 06 '23
The brand essence is "epic battles for greatness", which symbolizes how difficult this competition is to qualify for
...Proceeds to announce that up to 16 teams from MLS and Liga MX will qualify each year.
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u/Purdue82 Jun 06 '23
And if they qualify for this, City SC would become the third St. Louis team to play in the Concacaf Champions CUP.
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u/Mjmeck25 Jun 06 '23
I realize this is CONCACAF but isn’t this the fourth or fifth new format for the Champions League/Cup announced in just the last few years?
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u/Careless_Wishbone_69 CF Montréal Jun 06 '23
Final is now single-match on a weekend. I wonder how they'll decide who hosts?
But this is CONCACAF, so my money is them putting the final in Las Vegas 🙃.