CONCACAF: new format and qualifying tournament for the Champions League from 2017-18

CONCACAF has established a new format with a qualifying tournament for its Champions League, and reduced the number of participants in the final phase of the competition from the 2017-18 season, announced the confederation on 23/01/2017. Sixteen clubs will participate in the first phase of qualifying, between August and October, and the winner of this phase will join fifteen other clubs in the Champions League final phase between February and May. Both competitions will be played in a format with four knockout rounds contested in two legs (home and away). This new format eliminates the group phase introduced in the Champions League in 2008.

The CONCACAF Champions League currently has 24 directly qualified teams, and the group stage is held from August to October, with the final knockout rounds from February to April. "The expansion of the CONCACAF club competitions platform to 31 clubs is an important step forward in the Confederation’s efforts to include more Member Association representation and increase participation at the highest levels of our competitions," says Victor…