The 2022 CONCACAF League (officially the 2022 Scotiabank CONCACAF League for sponsorship purposes) was the sixth and final edition of the CONCACAF League, a football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Olimpia defeated Alajuelense in the final to win their second CONCACAF League title. As winners, they and the next best five teams qualified for the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League. Comunicaciones were the title holders, but were eliminated by Diriangén 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. The league champion, decided by the Canadian Premier League Finals contested between the two semifinal winners, 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 enter 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 enter 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 Pacific FCPreliminary round2021 Canadian Premier League champions1stDebut
+Qualified teams from Central America (18 teams: 9 entering in Round of 16, 9 entering in Preliminary Round)AssociationTeamEntry roundQualifying method Previous best HeredianoRound of 16Champions with better 2021–22 aggregate record (2021 Apertura)4th Champions CartaginésRound of 16Champions with worse 2021–22 aggregate record (2022 Clausura)1stDebutAlajuelensePreliminary roundNon-champions with best regular season record in 2021 Clausura4th Champions OlimpiaRound of 162021 Apertura champions5th Champions MotaguaRound of 162022 Clausura champions5th Runners-up Real EspañaPreliminary round2021 Apertura and 2022 Clausura runners-up2nd Round of 16 TauroRound of 16Champions with better 2021–22 aggregate record (2021 Clausura)4th Semi-finals Alianza Round of 16Champions with worse 2021–22 aggregate record (2022 Apertura)1stDebutSporting San MiguelitoPreliminary roundNon-champions with best 2021–22 aggregate record (2022 Apertura)1stDebut AlianzaRound of 16Champions with better 2021–22 aggregate record (2021 Apertura)4th Semi-finals ÁguilaPreliminary roundChampions with worse 2021–22 aggregate record (2022 Clausura)3rd Quarterfinals PlatensePreliminary roundNon-champions with best 2021–22 aggregate record1stDebut ComunicacionesRound of 16Champions with better 2021–22 aggregate record (2022 Clausura)4th Champions MalacatecoPreliminary roundChampions with worse 2021–22 aggregate record (2021 Apertura)1stDebutMunicipalPreliminary roundNon-champions with best 2021–22 aggregate record2nd Round of 16 DiriangénRound of 16Champions of both Apertura and Clausura Finals 2021–22 Liga Primera de Nicaragua5th Round of 16 Real EsteliPreliminary roundNon-champions with best 2021–22 Liga Primera de Nicaragua record5th Quarterfinals VerdesPreliminary roundChampions with better 2021–22 aggregate record3rd Preliminary Round
+Qualified teams from Caribbean (3 teams: 1 entering in Round of 16, 2 entering in Preliminary Round)AssociationTeamEntry roundQualifying method Previous best Cibao FCRound of 162022 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship runners-up (2nd overall)2nd Preliminary Round Atlético Vega RealPreliminary round2022 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship third place (3rd overall)1stDebut WaterhousePreliminary round2022 Caribbean CONCACAF League playoff winners3rd Quarterfinal
Draw
The draw for the 2022 CONCACAF League was held on 8 June 2022, 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 was not known at the time of the draw, were placed in Pot 4 and could 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 drawPotRankSlot2017 CL or2018 CCL2018 CL or2019 CCL2019 CL2020 CL2021 CLTotalTeamPot 1184.5 Alajuelense20046.5 Municipal344.5 Real España436.5 Platense50036 Pacific FC634.5 Sporting San MiguelitoPot 2730 Águila827 Atlético Vega Real922 Real Estelí100014.5 Malacateco1114.5 Waterhouse1210 Verdes +Teams in round of 16 drawPotRankSlot2017 CL or2018 CCL2018 CL or2019 CCL2019 CL2020 CL2021 CLTotalTeamPot 3140.5 Olimpia240 Motagua336 Herediano432 Alianza 529 Tauro625 Diriangén722 Alianza818 CartaginésPot 4916.5 Cibao10014 Comunicaciones 11Winner 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. 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 be used to determine the winner.
Schedule The schedule of the competition was as follows. RoundFirst legSecond legPreliminary round26–28 July 2–4 August Round of 1616–18 August23–25 August Quarter-finals7–8 September 13–15 September Semi-finals4–5 October 11 October Final26 October2 November
Times are Eastern Daylight Time (i.e., UTC−4), as listed by CONCACAF (local times are in parentheses).
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 26–28 July, and the second legs were played on 2–4 August 2022.
Matches
Tied 2–2 on aggregate. Verdes won on away goals.
Alajuelense won 4–1 on aggregate
Real España won 3–1 on aggregate
Sporting San Miguelito won 4–1 on aggregate
Pacific FC won 6–0 on aggregate
Municipal won 9–0 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.
Summary The first legs were played on 16–18 August, and the second legs were played on 23–25 August 2022.
Matches
Tauro won 2–1 on aggregate
Motagua won 3–0 on aggregate
Olimpia won 3–2 on aggregate
Diriangén won 2–1 on aggregate
Tied 1–1 on aggregate. Herediano won 6–5 on penalties.
Real España won 4–0 on aggregate
Alajuelense won 6–1 on aggregate
Alianza won 7–1 on aggregate
Quarter-finals In the quarter-finals, the matchups were determined as follows:
QF1: Winner R16-1 vs. Winner R16-2