CONCACAF Central American Cup
 | |
| Organizing bodies | UNCAF CONCACAF |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| Region | Central America |
| Number of teams | 20 |
| Qualifier for | CONCACAF Champions Cup |
| Related competitions | CONCACAF Caribbean Cup Leagues Cup |
| Current champion(s) |  Alajuelense(1st title) |
| Most successful club(s) | Alajuelense (1 title) |
| Television broadcasters | CONCACAF (YouTube) |
| Website | Official website |
 2024 CONCACAF Central American Cup | |
The CONCACAF Central American Cup (Spanish: Copa Centroamericana) is an annual continental club football competition to be organized by CONCACAF. It is contested by clubs from Central America and serves as that region's qualifying tournament to CONCACAF Champions Cup.[1]
History
[edit]On 21 September 2021, CONCACAF announced plans for an expansion of the CONCACAF Champions League tournament from 16 to 27 teams beginning in 2024. As part of the restructuring, regional qualification tournaments will be held for teams from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean beginning in 2023. The CONCACAF Central American Cup will replace CONCACAF League as the sole method of qualification to CONCACAF Champions Cup for teams from Central America.[2]
Format
[edit]The tournament will be structured into a group phase and a knockout phase. During the group phase, the 20 teams will be split into four groups of five. Teams will play one game against each team in their group and the top two teams in each group will advance to the knockout phase. The knockout phase will consist of four rounds plus a play-in round for the losers of the quarterfinals.[3]
The two play-in round and four quarterfinal winners qualify for the CONCACAF Champions Cup. The Central American Cup winner will receive a first round bye and advance directly to the Champions Cup Round of 16 while the other qualifying teams enter Round One.[3]
Qualification
[edit]A total of 20 teams representing all seven Central American Football Union members will qualify based on the results of their domestic league seasons.[3] The qualification criteria for 18 of the berths is as follows:
- 3 clubs from
Costa Rica - 3 clubs from
El Salvador - 3 clubs from
Guatemala - 3 clubs from
Honduras - 3 clubs from
Panama - 2 clubs from
Nicaragua - 1 club from
Belize
For the 2023 edition, Costa Rica and Honduras were awarded an extra slot by having clubs that reached the finals of the 2022 CONCACAF League.[4] For the 2024 edition, Costa Rica and Nicaragua were awarded an extra slot by having clubs that reached the finals of the 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup.[5]
Results
[edit]| Season | Winners | Agg. | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Alajuelense
|
4–1 |  Real Estelí
|
| 2024 |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Concacaf launches Concacaf Champions Cup". www.CONCACAF.com. CONCACAF. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
- ^ "Concacaf announces expanded Champions League starting in 2024". MLSSoccer.com. 21 September 2021. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021.
- ^ a b c "Concacaf announces qualification criteria for Confederation's expanded Champions League starting in 2024". Concacaf. 1 June 2022. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
- ^ "Concacaf announces qualification criteria update for 2023 Concacaf Central American Cup". Concacaf. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- ^ "Concacaf confirms important details for 2024 Concacaf Central American Cup". Concacaf. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
External links
[edit]| Global |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | ||
| Asia | ||
| Europe | ||
| North, Central America and the Caribbean | ||
| Oceania | ||
| South America | ||
See also: International women's club football | ||