New Champions League format unveiled

[Frank Cunha]

Champions League format unveiled
MLS squads will play in tourney for spot in Club World Cup
By Dylan Butler / MLSnet.com
A slow start won't keep Dwayne De Rosario and the Dynamo out of the Champions League. (Thomas Shea/Getty Images)
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While the UEFA Champions League final is still a week away, Major League Soccer fans can begin daydreaming about their own team's Champions League glory, as CONCACAF unveiled on Wednesday the qualification format for the inaugural 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League.
The CONCACAF Champions League will be comprised of 24 teams from each of the governing body's regions. Four Major League Soccer teams, four from Mexico, two from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama and one each from Canada, Belize and Nicaragua will join three Caribbean teams in the draw, which will be announced June 11.

Major League Soccer's representatives are based on last year's results. As MLS Cup champions, the Houston Dynamo are the top United States qualifier. Next is the MLS regular season champions, which was D.C. United, followed by the MLS Cup runner-up -- the New England Revolution -- as well as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup champion.

Since the Revs captured the U.S. Open Cup last year, the first title in club history, and already qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League as MLS Cup runners-up, the team with the second highest regular-season point total, Chivas USA, is the fourth qualifier.

There could still be a fifth MLS team in the tournament proper -- Toronto FC. The Reds will take on Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps -- both USL First Division (second tier) teams -- in a round-robin qualifying tournament beginning later this month.

Houston and D.C. most recently competed in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, both teams losing in the semifinals. Those two MLS teams, along with six others, will be seeded directly in the Group Stage, while the remaining 16 will be paired in home-and-away match-ups in the Preliminary Stage beginning August 26-28 and concluding Sept. 2-4.

The Group Stage will feature four groups of four teams each that will compete in a round-robin system during six match dates from September 16 to October 30. The top two clubs from each group will advance to the quarterfinals, with home and away legs played in February 2009.

The aggregate winners will meet in the semifinals, with home-and-away matches to be played in March and April. The CONCACAF Champions League final will also be a home-and-away aggregate series, which will be played in late April 2009.

The CONCACAF Champions League winner will represent the region in the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup.


2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League field
• USA (4 teams): Houston Dynamo (2007 Major League Soccer champion); D.C. United (2007 Major League Soccer regular-season winner); New England Revolution (2007 MLS Cup runner-up); Chivas USA (2007 MLS regular season runner-up)
• MEXICO (4 teams): Atlante FC (2007 Torneo Apertura champion); Pumas UNAM (2007 Torneo Apertura Runner-up); 2 teams to be determined (2008 Torneo Clausura champion and runner-up)
• COSTA RICA (2 teams): Deportivo Saprissa (Torneo Invierno winner); 1 team to be determined (Torneo Verano winner, or second place team in Torneo Verano if same champion for both Invierno and Verano)
• EL SALVADOR (2 teams): CD Luis Angel Firpo (Liga Mayor Apertura winner); 1 team to be determined (Torneo Clausura winner, or second place team in Torneo Clausura if same champion for both Apertura and Clausura)
• GUATEMALA (2 teams): Deportivo Jalapa (Torneo Apertura winner); 1 team to be determined (Torneo Clausura winner, or second place team in Torneo Clausura if same champion for both Apertura and Clausura)
• HONDURAS (2 teams): CD Marathon (Torneo Apertura 2007 winner); 1 team to be determined (Torneo Clausura winner, or second place team in Torneo Clausura if same champion for both Apertura and Clausura)
• PANAMA (2 teams): San Francisco FC (ANAPROF Apertura winner); 1 team to be determined (Torneo Clausura winner, or second place team in Torneo Clausura if same champion for both Apertura and Clausura)
• BELIZE (1 team): Hankook Verdes (2007-08 BPFL/RFG Insurance Cup Champions)
• NICARAGUA (1 team): to be determined; winner of playoff between Apertura winner (Real Estelí FC) and winner of Clausura.
• CANADA (1 team): Winner of three-way qualifying series between Toronto FC, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps.
• CARIBBEAN (3 teams): Harbour View FC (Jamaica); Joe Public FC (Trinidad & Tobago); winner of playoff between Puerto Rico Islanders and San Juan Jabloteh (Trinidad & Tobago)
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.

[Frank Cunha]

Toronto vs Montreal will start the battle for the Canadian spot

Canadian Champions League
2008-05-27 16:17:39


The Answerman, Soccer 365's Football journalist Jerrad Peters, takes a moment to explain the CANADIAN Champions League.

What is this Canadian Champions’ League tournament all about?
-Mark, Montreal

The inaugural Nutrilite Canadian Champions’ League will kick-off when Montreal Impact host Toronto FC at Stade Saputo on Tuesday, May 27. The competition will also include Vancouver Whitecaps and will run until July 27. After each of the three sides has completed a home-and-away series against both opponents, the winner will be awarded the Voyageurs Cup and will represent Canada in the qualification phase of the upcoming CONCACAF Champions’ League.

In other words, the Canadian Champions’ League is the process by which a professional, Canadian soccer club can participate in a competitive structure with a route to the annual FIFA Club World Cup. If, for example, Vancouver Whitecaps won the tournament, they could, conceivably, be lining up against the likes of Boca Juniors and Manchester United in December, 2009.

The centerpiece of the 2008 Canadian Champions’ League will be a Canada Day fixture between Toronto and Vancouver at BMO Field. And while the hosts will surely be favored as the lone Major League Soccer outfit in the competition, they cannot afford to take their rivals lightly. Whitecaps, after all, have one of the strongest traditions in North American soccer. They won five major trophies between 1988 and 1991 and were the United Soccer Leagues First Division champions in 2006. Currently, they sit fifth in USL First Division – just four points adrift of first-place Charleston Battery.

Montreal, meanwhile, are eighth in USL First Division with seven points from seven matches. They play in the comfortable, soccer-specific Stade Saputo and are hoping to join Major League Soccer within the next few years. Joey Saputo, the club chairman, has already discussed the matter with Montreal Canadiens and Liverpool FC owner George Gillett Jr. With the 13,000-capacity stadium filled for most home matches, a plan to expand the grounds by 5,000-seats is already in the works.

If marketed properly, the sky is the limit for the Canadian Champions’ League. Having already acquired a title sponsor in vitamin giants Nutrilite, the tournament has the potential to unite soccer fans throughout the country. With millions of Canadians preferring to follow their old-world soccer allegiances rather than support a local club, this competition offers the priceless element which is sure to attract new fans while appealing to old ones – upward, competitive mobility with the FIFA World Club Cup as the ultimate reward.

Unfortunately, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has completely missed the Champions’ League boat. While they frequently drum up excitement for their coverage of Major League Soccer and are currently overwhelmed with both the Stanley Cup Playoffs and upcoming Olympic Games, the public broadcaster seems to have vastly underestimated the popularity of this competition. It is to their own detriment. With the competent play-by-play of Nigel Reed and various other talent including commentator Jason de Vos and host Mitch Peacock, the CBC has considerable talent on which to build its soccer franchise. It is already doing so with Toronto FC and MLS. That it dropped the ball with the Champions’ League is inexplicable.

Fixture schedule for Canadian Champions’ League. All matches will be broadcast on CBC Television.

27 May Montreal Impact v Toronto FC
17 June Montreal Impact v Vancouver Whitecaps
25 June Vancouver Whitecaps v Montreal Impact
01 July Toronto FC v Vancouver Whitecaps
09 July Vancouver Whitecaps v Toronto FC
22 July Toronto FC v Montreal Impact

Have a question about football? Email your query to jerradpeters@gmail.com.

Jerrad Peters is a football journalist based in Winnipeg, Canada and a correspondent for Soccer365.com. His weekly column for the Winnipeg Free Press is the largest of its kind in the country. A regular contributor to ESPN Soccernet and Soccer Three-Sixty, his work has also appeared on TheMirror.co.uk, Canadian-soccer.com, Footy247.co.uk, Foot2ball.com, and Squadinfo.com.

[jec1]

Do you like the format? Is their balance?