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Champions' Cup

Champions League
2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League.svg
Founded 1962 (2008 in its
current format)
Region North America, Central America & The Caribbean (CONCACAF)
Number of teams 24 (from 12 associations)
Related competitions FIFA Club World Cup
Current champions Mexico América
(7th title)
Most successful club(s) Mexico América
(7 titles)
Website Official website
2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League

The CONCACAF Champions League is an annual continental football club competition organized by CONCACAF for the top football clubs in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The winner of the CONCACAF Champions League qualifies for the FIFA Club World Cup. The tournament is officially known as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League due to sponsorship reasons.

The tournament consists of two stages. The group stage is played from August to October, in which there are eight groups of three teams each. The eight group winners enter the knockout phase, which spans March through May. Unlike its European and South American counterparts, the winners of the CONCACAF Champions League do not automatically qualify for the following season's competition.

The competition was originally known as the CONCACAF Champions' Cup when it was first organized in 1962. The title has been won by 28 different clubs, 17 of which have won the title more than once. Mexican clubs have accumulated the highest number of victories, with 31 titles in total. The second most successful league has been Costa Rica's Primera División with six titles in total. Mexican side América are the most successful club in the competition's history, having won the tournament seven times, followed by fellow Mexican-side Cruz Azul with six titles. The most successful non-Mexican club is Saprissa of Costa Rica with three titles. The only four teams to successfully defend the trophy are all Mexican: América, Cruz Azul, Pachuca, and Monterrey. The current champions of the competition are América, successfully defending the title after defeating Tigres UANL 4–1 on aggregate.

Each tournament has two parts — a group stage held from August to October, and a knockout phase held from March to May of the following year. The group stage consists of 24 teams playing in eight groups of three teams each, with each team playing the other two teams in its group twice. United States and Mexican sides cannot be drawn into the same group. The winner of each of the eight groups advances to the quarterfinals. Each phase of the knockout rounds (quarterfinals, semifinals, finals) consist of a two-leg home-and-away series with the winner determined by aggregate goal differential. Seeding in the knockout phase is determined by performance during the group stage.


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