The 2021 CONCACAF League (officially the 2021 Scotiabank CONCACAF League for sponsorship purposes) was the 5th edition of the CONCACAF League, a football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Comunicaciones defeated Motagua in the final to win their first CONCACAF League title. As winners, they and the next best five teams qualified for the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League. Alajuelense were the title holders but were eliminated by Guastatoya in the Round of 16.
Qualification A total of 22 teams participated in the CONCACAF League: North American Zone: 1 team (from one association) Central American Zone: 18 teams (from seven associations) Caribbean Zone: 3 teams (from two or three associations)
Therefore, teams from either 10 or 11 out of the 41 CONCACAF member associations may participate in the CONCACAF League.
North America The one berth for the North American Zone (NAFU) was allocated to the Canadian Soccer Association through the previous year's Canadian Premier League, where the champions, decided by the Canadian Premier League Finals contested between the top two teams of the group stage, qualified. They are the second Canadian representative included in CONCACAF competitions, besides the Canadian Championship champions which qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League.
Central America The 18 berths for the Central American Football Union (UNCAF), which consists of seven member associations, were allocated as follows: three berths for each of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, two berths for Nicaragua, and one berth for Belize.
All of the leagues of Central America employ a split season with two tournaments in one season, so the following teams qualified for the CONCACAF League: In the league of Costa Rica, both champions, and the non-champions with the best Clausura record, qualified. If there was any team which were champions of both tournaments, the non-champions with the second best Clausura record qualified. In the leagues of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama, both champions, and the runners-up with the better aggregate record (or any team which are runners-up of both tournaments), qualify. If there is any team which are finalists of both tournaments, the runners-up with the worse aggregate record qualify. If there are any two teams which are finalists of both tournaments, the semi-finalists with the best aggregate record qualify. In the league of Nicaragua, both champions qualify. If there is any team which are champions of both tournaments, the runners-up with the better aggregate record (or any team which are runners-up of both tournaments) qualify. In the league of Belize, the champions with the better aggregate record (or any team which are champions of both tournaments) qualify.
If teams from any Central American associations were excluded, they would be replaced by teams from other Central American associations, with the associations chosen based on results from previous CONCACAF League and CONCACAF Champions League tournaments.
Caribbean The three berths for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), which consists of 31 member associations, were allocated via the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship and CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, the first-tier and second-tier subcontinental Caribbean club tournaments. Since 2018, the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship is open to teams from professional leagues, where they can qualify as champions or runners-up of their respective association's league in the previous season, while the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield is open to teams from non-professional leagues, where they can qualify as champions of their respective association's league in the previous season.
Besides the champions of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship which qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League, the runners-up and third-placed team of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship, and the winners of a playoff between the fourth-placed team of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship and the champions of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, qualified for the CONCACAF League. For the champions of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield to be eligible for the playoff, they were required to comply with the minimum CONCACAF Club Licensing requirements for the CONCACAF League.
Teams The following 22 teams (from eleven associations) qualified for the tournament. Ten teams entered in the round of 16: two each from Costa Rica, Honduras, and Panama, and one each from El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and the Caribbean. Twelve teams entered in the preliminary round: two each from El Salvador, Guatemala, and the Caribbean, and one each from Canada, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, and Belize.
+Qualified teams from North America (1 team: entering in preliminary round)AssociationTeamEntry roundQualifying method Previous best Forge FCPreliminary round2020 Canadian Premier League champions3rd Quarter-finals +Qualified teams from Central America (18 teams: 9 entering in round of 16, 9 entering in preliminary round)AssociationTeamEntry roundQualifying method Previous best AlajuelenseRound of 16Champions with better 2020–21 aggregate record (2020 Apertura)3rd Champions SaprissaRound of 16Champions with worse 2020–21 aggregate record (2021 Clausura)3rd Champions Santos de GuápilesPreliminary roundNon-champions with best regular season record in 2021 Clausura3rd Runners-up OlimpiaRound of 162020 Apertura and 2021 Clausura champions4th Champions MotaguaRound of 16Non-champions with best 2020–21 aggregate record4th Runners-up MarathónPreliminary roundNon-champions with 2nd best 2020–21 aggregate record3rd Quarter-finals IndependienteRound of 16Champions with better 2020–21 aggregate record (2020 Clausura)3rd Quarter-finals Plaza AmadorRound of 16Champions with worse 2020–21 aggregate record (2021 Apertura)2nd Semi-finals UniversitarioPreliminary roundRunners-up with better 2020–21 aggregate record (2021 Apertura)3rd Quarter-finals AlianzaRound of 16Champions with better 2020–21 aggregate record (2020 Apertura)4th Semi-finals FASPreliminary roundChampions with worse 2020–21 aggregate record (2021 Clausura)3rd Quarter-finals Once DeportivoPreliminary roundNon-champions with best 2020–21 aggregate record1stDebut GuastatoyaRound of 16Champions with better 2020–21 aggregate record (2020 Apertura)2nd Round of 16 Santa LucíaPreliminary roundChampions with worse 2020–21 aggregate record (2021 Clausura)1stDebutComunicacionesPreliminary roundNon-champions with best 2020–21 aggregate record3rd Quarter-finals Real EstelíRound of 16Champions with better 2020–21 aggregate record (2020 Apertura)4th Quarter-finals DiriangénPreliminary roundChampions with worse 2020–21 aggregate record (2021 Clausura)2nd Round of 16 VerdesPreliminary round2019 Opening champions2nd Preliminary round +Qualified teams from Caribbean (3 teams: 1 entering in round of 16, 2 entering in preliminary round)AssociationTeamEntry roundQualifying method Previous best Inter MoengotapoeRound of 162021 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship runners-up (2nd overall)1stDebutMetropolitanPreliminary round2021 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship better ranked losing semi-finalists (3rd overall)1stDebutSamaritainePreliminary round2021 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship worse ranked losing semi-finalists (4th overall)1stDebut
Notes
Draw
The draw for the 2021 CONCACAF League was held on 16 June 2021, 20:00 EDT (UTC−4), at the CONCACAF headquarters in Miami, United States.
For the preliminary round, the draw determined each tie (numbered 1 through 6) between a team from Pot 1 and a team from Pot 2, each containing six teams. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other except for "wildcard" teams which replace a team from another association.
For the round of 16, the draw determined each tie (numbered 1 through 8) between a team from Pot 3 and a team from Pot 4, each containing eight teams. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other except for "wildcard" teams which replace a team from another association. The six preliminary round winners, whose identity is not known at the time of the draw, are in Pot 4 and can be drawn into the same tie with another team from the same association.
The seeding of teams was based on the CONCACAF Club Index. The CONCACAF Club Index, instead of ranking each team, is based on the on-field performance of the teams that have occupied the respective qualifying slots in the previous five editions of the CONCACAF League and CONCACAF Champions League. To determine the total points awarded to a slot in any single edition of the CONCACAF League or CONCACAF Champions League, CONCACAF uses the following formula:
Points perParticipationWinDrawStage advancedChampionsCONCACAF Champions League 43112CONCACAF League 2310.51
Teams qualified for the CONCACAF League based on criteria set by their association (e.g., tournament champions, runners-up, cup champions), resulting in an assigned slot (e.g., CRC1, CRC2) for each team.
The 22 teams were distributed in the pots as follows:
+Teams in preliminary round drawPotRankSlot2016–17 CCL2017 CL or2018 CCL2018 CL or2019 CCL2019 CL2020 CLTotalTeamPot 11066.5 Santos de Guápiles2033.5 Once Deportivo3032.5 Marathón432 FAS5031 Universitario629 MetropolitanPot 27020 Diriangén800019.5 Forge FC900016.5 Comunicaciones10014.5 Samaritaine110012 Santa Lucia1212 Verdes +Teams in round of 16 drawPotRankSlot2016–17 CCL2017 CL or2018 CCL2018 CL or2019 CCL2019 CL2020 CLTotalTeamPot 3147 Independiente246.5 Olimpia340 Alajuelense438 Plaza Amador535.5 Motagua629 Alianza728 Saprissa826 Real EstelíPot 4919.5 Inter Moengotapoe10018 Guastatoya11Winner preliminary round 112Winner preliminary round 213Winner preliminary round 314Winner preliminary round 415Winner preliminary round 516Winner preliminary round 6
Format In the CONCACAF League, the 22 teams played a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. In the preliminary round, round of 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals, the away goals rule was applied if the aggregate score is tied after the second leg. If still tied, the penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 12.8). In the final, the away goals rule was not applied, and extra time would be played if the aggregate score was tied after the second leg. If the aggregate score was still tied after extra time, the penalty shoot-out would used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 12.9).
Schedule The schedule of the competition was as follows.
RoundFirst legSecond legPreliminary round3–5 August17–19 AugustRound of 1621–23 September28–30 SeptemberQuarter-finals19–21 October2–4 NovemberSemi-finals23–25 November30 November – 2 DecemberFinal7–9 December14–15 December
Times are Eastern Time, as listed by CONCACAF (local times are in parentheses): Times up to 6 November 2021 (preliminary round, round of 16, and quarter-finals) are Eastern Daylight Time, i.e., UTC−4. Times thereafter (semi-finals and final) are Eastern Standard Time, i.e., UTC−5.
Bracket
Preliminary round In the preliminary round, the matchups were decided by draw: PR-1 through PR-6. The teams from Pot 1 in the draw host the second leg.
Summary The first legs were played on 3–5 August, and the second legs were played on 17–19 August 2021.
Matches
Comunicaciones won 4–1 on aggregate.
Marathón won 3–1 on aggregate.
Santos de Guápiles won 6–1 on aggregate.
Universitario advance on walkover.
Santa Lucía won 5–1 on aggregate.
Forge FC won 5–3 on aggregate.
Round of 16 In the round of 16, the matchups were decided by draw: R16-1 through R16-6. The teams from Pot 3 in the draw host the second leg.