Tournament details | |
---|---|
Dates | July 28, 2009 – April 28, 2010 |
Teams | 24 (from 10 associations) |
Final positions | |
Champions | Pachuca (4th title) |
Runners-up | Cruz Azul |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 78 |
Goals scored | 242 (3.1 per match) |
Attendance | 530,883 (6,806 per match) |
Top scorer(s) |
Ulises Mendivil (9 goals) |
The 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League was the second edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current format, and overall the 45th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament began on July 28, 2009 and ran through April 28, 2010. All four Mexican teams topped their groups and reached the semi-finals, with Pachuca winning the final against Cruz Azul with a 2-2 aggregate score, by the away goals rule. As winners, Pachuca qualified for the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup as the CONCACAF representative.
24 teams participated in the 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League from the North American, Central American, and Caribbean zones. Nine of the teams came from North America, twelve from Central America, and three from the Caribbean. However, after problems in the previous year's tournament, CONCACAF decided that teams may be disqualified and replaced if they don't have a stadium for the tournament that CONCACAF deems suitable.
Also, in response to fixture congestion during the previous year's tournament, the Central American representatives that qualify via split seasons will no longer play-off solely to determine which team will gain entry into the Group Stage. In nations that regularly play a playoff to determine a national champion, these will continue as usual. For those that don't, total points over both seasons, followed by other tiebreakers, will determine which team enters the Group Stage without playing extra matches.
It was announced on May 12, 2009 that Belize had lost their lone qualification to Honduras due to the inability of the Belize federation to meet CONCACAF's minimum requirements in regards to stadium facilities. The spot vacated by Belize was awarded to Honduras, increasing their total to three qualified clubs, due to their association's teams' superior performance in the 2008–09 Champions League.