The 2022 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2022 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League) was the 14th edition of the CONCACAF Champions Cup under its former name, and overall the 57th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Monterrey was the title holder but did not qualify for this tournament and was unable to defend its title. American team Seattle Sounders FC won its first CONCACAF Champions League title, defeating Mexican club UNAM 5–2 on aggregate in the final. The Sounders thus became the first team from Major League Soccer to win the title under its current format.[1] It was the first time since the 2005 CONCACAF Champions' Cup, that a non-Mexican team won the Champions' Cup or Champions League, and the first time since 2000 that an American team won the Champions' Cup or League.
Teams
The following 16 teams (from seven associations) qualified for the tournament.[2]
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).
Location of teams of the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League North American Zone Central American Zone Caribbean Zone
The draw for the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League was held on 15 December 2021, in Miami, Florida, United States.[5]
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) contains the bracket positions numbered 1 through 8 corresponding to each tie. The teams from Pot 1 are 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 cannot be drawn against each other in the round of 16 except for "wildcard" teams which replace a team from another association.
The seeding of teams were based on the CONCACAF Club Index.[6] The CONCACAF Club Index, instead of ranking each team, was based on the on-field performance of the teams that 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 per
Participation
Win
Draw
Stage advanced
Champions
4
3
1
1
2
The slots were assigned by the following rules:[7]
For teams from North America, nine teams qualified based on criteria set by their association (e.g., tournament champions, runners-up, cup champions), resulting in an assigned slot (e.g., MEX1, MEX2) for each team. If a team from Canada qualified through the CONCACAF League, they were ranked within their association, resulting in an assigned slot (i.e., CAN2) for them.
For teams from Central America, they qualified through the CONCACAF League, and were ranked per association by their CONCACAF League ranking, resulting in an assigned slot (e.g., CRC1, CRC2) for each team.
For teams from the Caribbean, the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship champions were assigned the Caribbean champion slot (i.e., CCC1). If teams from the Caribbean qualified through the CONCACAF League, they were ranked per association by their CONCACAF League ranking, resulting in an assigned slot (e.g., JAM1, SUR1) for each team.
The 16 teams were distributed in the pots as follows:[8]
Each tie, including the final, was played over two legs, with each team playing on a home-and-away basis.
In the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals, the away goals rule was applied if the aggregate score was tied after the second leg. If still tied, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 12.7).[9]
In the final, extra time was played if the match was tied after regulation time of the second leg. The away goals rule was not applied. If the score was still tied after extra time in the second leg, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 12.8).[9]
Schedule
All matches were played on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Schedule for 2022 CONCACAF Champions League[10][11]
Round
First leg
Second leg
Round of 16
15–18 February 2022
22–24 February 2022
Quarter-finals
8–10 March 2022
15–17 March 2022
Semi-finals
5–6 April 2022
12–13 April 2022
Final
27 April 2022
4 May 2022
Times are Eastern Time, as listed by CONCACAF (local times are in parentheses):
Source: CONCACAF Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Away goals scored; 5) Wins; 6) Away wins; 7) Disciplinary points (1 point for yellow card, 3 points for indirect red card, 4 points for direct red card, 5 points for yellow card and direct red card); 8) Drawing of lots (Regulations Article 12.9.5).
Summary
The first legs were played on 5–6 April, and the second legs were played on 12–13 April 2022.[23]
Source: CONCACAF Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Away goals scored; 5) Wins; 6) Away wins; 7) Disciplinary points (1 point for yellow card, 3 points for indirect red card, 4 points for direct red card, 5 points for yellow card and direct red card); 8) Drawing of lots (Regulations Article 12.9.5).
Summary
The first leg was played on 27 April, and the second leg was played on 4 May 2022.[26] Unlike previous rounds, the away goals rule did not apply in the final round.[9]
^ abBoth matches between Cavaly AS and New England Revolution were cancelled due to the withdrawal of Cavaly AS from the competition.[11] New England Revolution advanced to the quarterfinal round on a walkover. Since the matches were officially declared no contest and not forfeit, only results starting with the quarterfinal round will be considered for seeding purposes in the semifinal and final rounds for matches in which New England participates.[12]
^New York City FC's home stadium, Yankee Stadium, as well as its second choice venue, Citi Field, were unavailable because they are not CONCACAF approved venues, and the club's third choice venue, Red Bull Arena, was also unavailable due to stadium and pitch renovations, requiring the team to play elsewhere. New York City FC chose Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles, California, due to the stadium's proximity to LA Galaxy's stadium, where the team would play a 2022 MLS regular season away match four days later.[16]
^The Cavaly v New England match, originally scheduled for 15 February 2022 at 18:00 EST,[14] was rescheduled to 18 February 2022 at 17:30 EST due to challenges for Cavaly in their attempts to obtain the necessary visas to travel.[17]
^Due to a suspension of CONCACAF competition matches in Haiti which had been in force since December 2021 due to safety and security concerns, the match could not be held in Haiti. Instead, the first leg was to be played at New England Revolution's home stadium, Gillette Stadium.[18][14]
^The CF Montréal v Santos Laguna match, originally scheduled for 22 February 2022 at 20:00 EST,[14] was rescheduled to 23 February 2022 at 20:15 EST due to adverse weather projected in Montreal for the original date.[19]
^The León v Seattle Sounders FC match, originally scheduled for 15 March 2022 at 22:15 EST,[20] was rescheduled to 17 March 2022 at 20:30 EST.[21]
^New York City FC's home stadium, Yankee Stadium, as well as its second choice venue, Citi Field, are unavailable because they are not CONCACAF approved venues.[24]
