The 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2015–16 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 8th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 51st edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
América were the defending champions, and won their second consecutive title, and a record-breaking seventh CONCACAF club title (including the CONCACAF Champions' Cup era), by beating fellow Mexican team Tigres UANL 4–1 on aggregate in the final. As the winner of the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League, they qualified as the CONCACAF representative at the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, their third appearance in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Qualification
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; the fourth berth is allocated to the winner of its domestic cup competition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. If U.S.-based, the MLS Cup winner, the Supporters' Shield winner, the other regular season conference winner and the U.S. Open Cup winner 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.
Because Canada hosted the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the 2015 Canadian Championship, typically played April–May, was extended, with the finals in August. Because a winner therefore would not be determined before the start of the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League, for this season only, the lone Canadian berth into the tournament (in Pot 1) was given to the best Canadian team in the MLS regular season. The champions of the 2015 Canadian Championship would instead qualify for the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League, and the Canadian Championship schedule in future years will finish in June or July, after the CONCACAF Champions League draw each year, so future winners of the Voyageurs Cup (the Canadian Championship trophy) will earn entry into the Champions League for the following calendar year instead of the same calendar year as in previous tournaments.
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 Panama are placed in Pot 2 and the teams from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Belize are placed in Pot 1.
All of these leagues employ the 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).
AssociationTeamPotQualifying methodAppLast AppPrevious BestNorth America (9 teams) MexicoAmérica32014 Apertura champions3rd2014–15ChampionsTigres UANL2014 Apertura runners-up2nd2012–13QuarterfinalsSantos Laguna2015 Clausura champions5th2012–13Runners-upQuerétaro2015 Clausura runners-up1stN/AN/A United StatesLA Galaxy2014 MLS Cup champions5th2013–14SemifinalsSeattle Sounders FC2014 MLS Supporters' Shield champions and 2014 U.S. Open Cup champions4th2012–13SemifinalsD.C. United2014 MLS Eastern Conference regular season champions4th2014–15QuarterfinalsReal Salt Lake2014 MLS Supporters' Shield fourth place3rd2012–13Runners-up CanadaVancouver Whitecaps FC12014 MLS regular season best Canadian team1stN/AN/ACentral America (12 teams) Costa RicaSaprissa22014 Invierno champions5th2014–15SemifinalsHerediano2015 Verano champions6th2014–15Semifinals HondurasMotagua2014 Apertura champions3rd2011–12Group stageOlimpia2015 Clausura champions8th2014–15Quarterfinals GuatemalaComunicaciones2014 Apertura champions and 2015 Clausura champions5th2014–15QuarterfinalsMunicipal2014 Apertura and 2015 Clausura runners-up6th2014–15Group stage PanamaSan Francisco2014 Apertura champions5th2011–12Group stageÁrabe Unido2015 Clausura champions4th2013–14Quarterfinals El SalvadorIsidro Metapán12014 Apertura champions8th2014–15QuarterfinalsSanta Tecla2015 Clausura champions1stN/AN/A NicaraguaWalter FerrettiChampions with better aggregate record in 2014–15 season1stN/AN/A BelizeVerdesChampions with better aggregate record in 2014–15 season2nd2008–09Preliminary roundCaribbean (3 teams) Trinidad and TobagoCentral12015 CFU Club Championship champions1stN/AN/AW Connection2015 CFU Club Championship runners-up4th2013–14Group stage JamaicaMontego Bay United2015 CFU Club Championship third place1stN/AN/A
Notes
Draw
Schedule The schedule of the competition was as follows.
StageRoundFirst legSecond legGroup stageMatchday 1August 4–6, 2015Matchday 2August 18–20, 2015Matchday 3August 25–27, 2015Matchday 4September 15–17, 2015Matchday 5September 22–24, 2015Matchday 6October 20–22, 2015Knockout stageQuarterfinalsFebruary 23–24, 2016March 1–2, 2016SemifinalsMarch 15–16, 2016April 5, 2016FinalApril 20, 2016April 27, 2016
Group stage
Tiebreakers
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
Knockout stage
Seeding
Bracket
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
CONCACAF Champions League2015–16 championAméricaSeventh title
Top goalscorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Emanuel Villa Querétaro62 Michael Arroyo América5 Alan Gordon LA Galaxy4 Djaniny Santos Laguna4 André-Pierre Gignac Tigres UANL Darwin Quintero América7 Lamar Neagle Seattle Sounders FC3 Oribe Peralta América Johnny Ruiz San Francisco
Awards
AwardPlayerTeamGolden Ball Rubens Sambueza AméricaGolden Boot Emanuel Villa QuerétaroGolden Glove Hugo González AméricaBest Young Player Alberth Elis OlimpiaFair Play Award— Querétaro
See also 2016 FIFA Club World Cup
References
External links CONCACAF Champions League , CONCACAF.com