The 2018 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2018 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 10th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 53rd edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
The format of the tournament was changed as part of a new CONCACAF club competition platform consisting of two tournaments (CONCACAF League and CONCACAF Champions League) and a total of 31 teams competing during the season (an increase from the previous 24 teams), with 16 teams competing in the newly created CONCACAF League from August to October, and the winners of the CONCACAF League joining the 15 direct entrants competing in the CONCACAF Champions League from February to April. As a result, the 2018 edition was played using a new format that included the removal of the group stage, a reduction in participating teams from 24 to 16, and a total reduction in matches from 62 to 30.
Guadalajara defeated Toronto FC in the final to win their second CONCACAF club title and their first in the Champions League era, and qualified as the CONCACAF representative at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Pachuca won the previous tournament but did not qualify for this tournament and were unable to defend their title.
Qualification A total of 16 teams participated in the CONCACAF Champions League: North American Zone: 9 teams (from three associations) Central American Zone: 5 teams (from four associations; ordinarily from five associations, but Guatemalan teams were excluded from this season's tournament) Caribbean Zone: 1 team (from one association) Winners of the CONCACAF League (from one association, from either Central American Zone or Caribbean Zone)
Therefore, teams from either 8 or 9 out of the 41 CONCACAF member associations could participate in the CONCACAF Champions League.
North America The nine berths for the North American Football Union (NAFU) were allocated to the three NAFU member associations as follows: four berths each for Mexico and the United States, and one berth for Canada.
For Mexico, the champions and runners-up of the Liga MX Apertura and Clausura Liguilla (playoff) tournaments qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. If there was any team which were finalists of both tournaments, the vacated berth was reallocated using a formula, based on regular season records, that ensured that two teams qualified via each tournament.
For the United States, four teams qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League, three through the Major League Soccer (MLS) season and one through its domestic cup competition: The champions of the MLS Cup, the championship match of the MLS Cup Playoffs The champions of the Supporters' Shield, awarded to the team with the best MLS regular season record The MLS regular season champions of either the Eastern Conference or Western Conference which were not the Supporters' Shield champions The champions of the U.S. Open Cup If there was any team which qualified through multiple berths, or if there was any Canada-based MLS team which were champions of the MLS Cup, the Supporters' Shield, or conference regular season, the vacated berth was reallocated to the U.S.-based team with the best MLS regular season record not yet qualified.
For Canada, the champions of the Canadian Championship, its domestic cup competition which awards the Voyageurs Cup, qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. While some Canada-based teams competed in MLS, they could not qualify through either the MLS regular season or playoffs. In line with the launch of the new format, which placed the Canadian representative directly in the CONCACAF Champions League beginning in early 2018, the Canadian Soccer Association announced in March 2017 that a special one-match playoff between the 2016 champions Toronto FC and the 2017 champions would be played on 9 August 2017 in Toronto to determine who would qualify for the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League, except in the case that Toronto FC won the 2017 edition, in which the playoff would be unnecessary and Toronto FC would qualify automatically. As Toronto FC did later win the 2017 Canadian Championship, the playoff was not played.
Central America The five berths for the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) were allocated to five of the seven UNCAF member associations as follows: one berth for each of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama. As all of the leagues of Central America employed a split season with two tournaments in one season, the champions with the better aggregate record (or any team which were champions of both tournaments) in the leagues of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League.
If teams from any Central American associations were excluded, they were replaced by teams from other Central American associations, with the associations chosen based on results from previous CONCACAF Champions League tournaments. For this season, the team from Guatemala was excluded due to the suspension of their federation by FIFA and was replaced by an additional team from Costa Rica.
Caribbean The sole berth for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) was allocated via the Caribbean Club Championship, a subcontinental tournament open to the clubs of all 31 CFU member associations. To qualify for the Caribbean Club Championship, teams had to finish as the champions or runners-up of their respective association's league in the previous season, but professional teams could also be selected by their associations if they played in the league of another country. The champions of the Caribbean Club Championship qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League.
CONCACAF League
Besides the 15 direct entrants of the CONCACAF Champions League, another 16 teams (13 from Central America and 3 from the Caribbean) entered the CONCACAF League, a tournament held from August to October prior to the CONCACAF Champions League. The champions of the CONCACAF League qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League.
Teams The following 16 teams (from eight 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).
+Qualified teams from North America (9 teams)AssociationTeamQualifying method Previous best Tigres UANL2016 Apertura champions and 2017 Clausura runners-up4th Runners-up Guadalajara2017 Clausura champions2nd Group stage América2016 Apertura runners-up4th Champions TijuanaNon-finalists with best regular season record in 2017 Clausura2nd Semi-finals Seattle Sounders FC2016 MLS Cup champions5th Semi-finals FC Dallas2016 MLS Supporters' Shield and 2016 U.S. Open Cup champions3rd Semi-finals New York Red Bulls2016 MLS Eastern Conference regular season champions4th Quarter-finals Colorado Rapids2016 MLS Supporters' Shield runners-up2nd Group stage Toronto FC2016 Canadian Championship and 2017 Canadian Championship champions5th Semi-finals +Qualified teams from Central America (6 teams)AssociationTeamQualifying method Previous best SaprissaChampions with better aggregate record in 2016–17 season (2016 Invierno)7th Semi-finals HeredianoChampions with worse aggregate record in 2016–17 season (2017 Verano)8th Semi-finals Motagua2016 Apertura and 2017 Clausura champions4th Group stage Olimpia2017 CONCACAF League champions10th Quarter-finals TauroChampions with better aggregate record in 2016–17 season (2017 Clausura)6th Group stage Santa Tecla2016 Apertura and 2017 Clausura champions2nd Group stage +Qualified teams from Caribbean (1 team)AssociationTeamQualifying method Previous best Cibao2017 Caribbean Club Championship champions1stDebut
Notes
Draw
The draw for the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League was held on 18 December 2017, 19:00 EST (UTC−5), at the Univision Studios in Miami, Florida, United States, and was streamed on YouTube.
The draw determined each tie in the round of 16 (numbered 1 through 8) between a team from Pot 1 and a team from Pot 2, each containing eight teams. The "Bracket Position Pots" (Pot A and Pot B) contained the bracket positions numbered 1 through 8 corresponding to each tie. The teams from Pot 1 were assigned a bracket position from Pot A and the teams from Pot 2 were assigned a bracket position from Pot B. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other in the round of 16 except for "wildcard" teams which replaced a team from another association.
The seeding of teams was based on the new CONCACAF Club Index. Each team qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League based on criteria set by the respective associations (e.g., tournament champions, runners-up, cup champions), resulting in an assigned slot (e.g., MEX1, MEX2) for each team. The CONCACAF Club Index, instead of ranking each team, was based on the on-field performance of the teams that had occupied the respective qualifying slots in the previous five editions of the CONCACAF Champions League. To determine the total points awarded to a slot in any single edition of the CONCACAF Champions League, CONCACAF used the following formula:
Points perParticipationWinDrawStage advancedChampions43112
The 16 teams were distributed in the pots as follows:
PotRankSlot2012–132013–142014–152015–162016–17TotalTeamPot 11110 América2109 Tigres UANL3103 Guadalajara4101 Tijuana576 New York Red Bulls673 Toronto FC773 Seattle Sounders FC871 FC DallasPot 2971 Colorado Rapids1065 Saprissa1162 Herediano (wildcard)1256 Motagua1353 Tauro1432 Santa Tecla1527 Cibao16000000 Olimpia
Format In the CONCACAF Champions League, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still tied, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations, II. D. Tie-Breaker Procedures).
Schedule The schedule of the competition was as follows.
RoundFirst legSecond legRound of 1620–22 February 201827 February – 1 March 2018Quarter-finals6–7 March 201813–14 March 2018Semi-finals3–4 April 201810 April 2018Final17 April 201825 April 2018
Times up to 10 March 2018 (round of 16 and quarter-finals first legs) were Eastern Standard Time, i.e., UTC−5, thereafter (quarter-finals second legs and beyond) times were Eastern Daylight Time, i.e., UTC−4 (local times are in parentheses).
Bracket
Round of 16 In the round of 16, the matchups were decided by draw: R16-1 through R16-8. The teams from Pot 1 in the draw hosted the second leg.
Summary The first legs were played from 20 to 22 February, and the second legs were played from 27 February – 1 March 2018.
Matches
Guadalajara won 7–0 on aggregate.
Seattle Sounders FC won 5–2 on aggregate.
New York Red Bulls won 3–1 on aggregate.
Tijuana Xolos won 2–1 on aggregate.
Tigres UANL won 5–3 on aggregate.
Toronto FC won 2–0 on aggregate.
3–3 on aggregate. Tauro won on away goals.
América won 6–2 on aggregate.
Quarter-finals In the quarter-finals, the matchups were determined as follows: QF1: Winner R16-1 vs. Winner R16-2 QF2: Winner R16-3 vs. Winner R16-4 QF3: Winner R16-5 vs. Winner R16-6 QF4: Winner R16-7 vs. Winner R16-8 The winners of round of 16 matchups 1, 3, 5, and 7 hosted the second leg.
Summary The first legs were played from 6–7 March, and the second legs were played from 13 to 14 March 2018.
Matches
Guadalajara won 3–1 on aggregate.
New York Red Bulls won 5–1 on aggregate.
4–4 on aggregate. Toronto FC won on away goals.
América won 7–1 on aggregate.
Semi-finals In the semi-finals, the matchups were determined as follows: SF1: Winner QF1 vs. Winner QF2