CONCACAF Central American Cup
Organizing bodiesUNCAF
CONCACAF
Founded2021 (2021)
RegionCentral America
Number of teams20
Qualifier forCONCACAF Champions Cup
Related competitionsCONCACAF Caribbean Cup
Leagues Cup
Current champion(s)Costa Rica Alajuelense
(1st title)
Most successful club(s)Costa Rica Alajuelense
(1 title)
Television broadcastersCONCACAF (YouTube)
WebsiteOfficial website
2023 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 will be contested by clubs from Central America and serve as that region's qualifying tournament to CONCACAF Champions Cup.[1]

History

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

The tournament will be divided into a group phase and a knockout phase. In the first phase, the 20 teams will be divided 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

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:

For the 2023 edition, Costa Rica and Honduras will be awarded an extra slot by having clubs that reached the finals of the 2022 CONCACAF League.[4] Distribution of the final two slots in future years is to be determined.

Results

Season Winners Agg. Runners-up
2023 Costa Rica Alajuelense 4–1 Nicaragua Real Estelí

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Concacaf launches Concacaf Champions Cup". www.CONCACAF.com. CONCACAF. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  2. ↑ "Concacaf announces expanded Champions League starting in 2024". MLSSoccer.com. 21 September 2021. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "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.
  4. ↑ "Concacaf announces qualification criteria update for 2023 Concacaf Central American Cup". Concacaf. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
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