User:Bmf 051/sandbox/2017–18 CONCACAF SuperLiga
The CONCACAF SuperLiga is a proposed annual continental club
requirements for hosting matches in a tournament such as this. But this is just an idea.The tournament would consist of two qualification rounds and a play-off round, with 22 surviving teams entering the group stage, joining 16 teams that qualify automatically and 10 losers from the play-off round of the CONCACAF Champions League. The 48 teams are drawn into twelve groups of four teams and play each other in a double round-robin system. The twelve group winners and twelve runners-up proceed to the knockout phase, joined by the third-placed teams from the group stage of the Champions League, ultimately culminating with the two-legged final.
Guadalajara won the previous tournament. They entered the 2017–18 CONCACAF Champions League group stage as the winners of the Clausura 2017 Liga MX, and advanced to the knockout phase after finishing runners-up in their group. Thus, they will not have an opportunity to defend their SuperLiga title.
Sporting Kansas City won the tournament, drawing Toluca 3–3 on aggregate in the final, and winning 3–0 on away goals, becoming the first American team and the first non-Mexican team to win the tournament.
Format changes
The qualification procedure was changed for some associations (namely Curaçao, Aruba, Turks and Caicos Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Bonaire). Each of these associations use a format involving multiple play-off rounds, with team's potentially being eliminated from advancing to a further round with match(es) still left to play. Previously, each of these associations' leagues ranked the play-off champions and runners-up as the top two teams in the league, followed by the remaining teams based on regular season record. This could potentially result in a situation where a team (having already been eliminated in the play-offs) could benefit from not winning a game (if losing or drawing could prevent another team that finished lower in the regular season standings from advancing in the play-offs). Such a situation occured with Curaçao last season, where Jong Holland could have eliminated themselves from SuperLiga contention by winning their final play-off match, giving incentive to lose or draw that match (the match ultimately ended in a draw). In the future, these associations will rank their teams entirely based on play-off performance (aside from berths awarded for winning domestic cup tournaments).
This will also affect qualification for Costa Rica, who adopted a similar format beginning with the 2016–17 season, albeit incorporating it into an Invierno and Verano system. For this league, teams are ranked based on play-off performance with Verano finish taking precedence (i.e. the Verano champions are ranked 1st, the Invierno champions are 2nd, the Verano runners-up are 3rd, etc.). Teams that did not qualify for the play-offs are then ranked based on aggregate record. An exception to this is that, if the Invierno champions finish with the best aggregate record in the league, they are ranked 1st automatically since they will not have an incentive to lose a match in the Verano. These changes should eliminate any circumstance where a team may benefit from losing a play-off match by placing precedence on performing better in the second-half play-offs. Nicaragua adopted the same format, but only for the Apertura, so their qualification method will not change.
Furthermore, the following changes were made to the default access list.
- The number of teams from Liga Nacional de Puerto Rico.
- The number of teams from Guyana was reduced to 2 (from 3). Due to only having 6 teams in their top league, Guyana is only eligible to enter 4 teams total into the Champions League and SuperLiga. Since Guyana earned two berths in the Champions League based on their country coefficient, they are only eligible for two berths in the SuperLiga.
- The number of teams from Anguilla was increased to 3 (from 2), due to this country's league expanding from 5 teams to 9.
The following additional changes were made due to the expulsion of
- The first selections from associations 10 and 11 (Puerto Rico and Nicaragua) were moved from the second qualifying round to the group stage.
- The first selections from associations 19–30 except the Dominican Republic (Belize, Bermuda, Aruba, Suriname, Saint Lucia, Dominica, U.S. Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cuba, Bahamas, and Barbados) were moved from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round. The Dominican Republic's first selection was Cibao, who were moved to the group stage as the 2017 CFU Club Championship winners.
- One fewer team will transfer from the Champions League second qualifying round to the SuperLiga play-off round (11 instead of 12).
Format
Qualification
The CONCACAF SuperLiga will commence with a double round-robin group stage of 48 teams, which is preceded by three qualification rounds for teams that do not receive direct entry to the tournament proper.
Three teams will qualify for the tournament from each member association, except for Canada who has one qualifier but are also eligible for the American spots in the tournament, and Anguilla who has two qualifiers. Club coefficients, which are derived using the same formula as
Twenty-eight teams eliminated from the 2017–18 CONCACAF Champions League are transferred to the CONCACAF SuperLiga.
Distribution
The table below shows the access list for the tournament.
For associations without a domestic cup, the three selections will be given to the three best teams that have not qualified for the Champions League, and the teams will be seeded based on their performance during the domestic season. Seeding methods vary between associations, due to different season formats.
For associations that have a domestic cup, the selections will be as follows:
- First selection: Domestic cup winner
- Second selection: Best team not yet qualified for Champions League or SuperLiga
- Third selection: Second best team not yet qualified for Champions League or SuperLiga (or second domestic cup winner, for Mexico)
| Teams entering in this round | Teams advancing from previous round | Teams transferred from Champions League | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First qualifying round (64 teams) |
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| Second qualifying round (66 teams) |
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| Play-off round (44 teams) |
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| Group stage (48 teams) |
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| Knockout phase (32 teams) |
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Redistribution rules
A CONCACAF SuperLiga place is vacated when a team qualifies for both the Champions League and the SuperLiga, or qualifies for the SuperLiga by more than one method. When a place is vacated, it is redistributed within the national association by the following rules:
- When the domestic cup winners (considered as the "highest-placed" qualifier within the national association with the latest starting round) also qualify for the Champions League, their SuperLiga place is vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which have not yet qualified for continental competitions qualify for the SuperLiga, with the SuperLiga qualifiers which finish above them in the league moved up one "place".
- When the domestic cup winners also qualify for the SuperLiga through league position, their place through the league position is vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which have not yet qualified for continental competitions qualify for the SuperLiga, with the SuperLiga qualifiers which finish above them in the league moved up one "place" if possible.
- If a Canadian team earns an American berth, they will vacate the American berth and receive a supplemental berth instead. The American berth will go to the next best American team.
Association ranking (2017–18)
For the 2017–18 CONCACAF Champions League, the associations are allocated places according to their
Apart from the allocation based on the country coefficients, associations may have additional teams participating in the Champions League, as noted below:
- (CCL) – Additional teams transferred from the Champions League
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- Government of Guatemala. Until the suspension is lifted, Guatemalan teams are not permitted to participate in international competitions. CONCACAF set the deadline of 1 May 2017 for the suspension to be lifted, and expelled all Guatemalan teams from the tournament on 4 May 2017 after the federation failed to be reinstated by FIFA.
Teams
League positions of the previous season shown in parentheses.
The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:
- CW: Cup winners
- 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.: League position
- CFU: CFU Club Championship title holders
- CCL: Transferred from the Champions League
- GS: Third-placed teams from the group stage
- PO: Losers from the play-off round
- 2Q: Losers from the second qualifying round
Notably Samaritaine qualified as a member of Martinque's second division, though they were promoted to the first division prior to this tournament. Also, Puerto Rico FC are not a member of the Puerto Rican league system at all, playing in the United States' second division league, the North American Soccer League.
- ^ Bonaire (BOE): The 2016–17 Bonaire League play-offs were not completed in time for the SuperLiga, so the regular season standings were used to determine the qualifiers.
- ^ Puerto Rico (PUR): The Puerto Rico Soccer League conducted a short intercalary season in early 2017, as the league shifts from a spring-to-autumn schedule to an autumn-to-spring schedule. This season was not used for qualification to CONCACAF tournaments.
- 2017 NLA Premier Leaguewas not completed in time for the SuperLiga, so the standings through 1 July 2017 (after 9 out of 11 rounds were played) were used to determine the qualifiers. When the season was completed, System 3 passed Pastures in the standings, by tying them both on points and on goal difference but finishing with more goals scored.
Round and draw dates
The schedule of the competition is as follows.
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | First qualifying round | 19 June 2017 | 13 and 19 July 2017 | 20 and 22 July 2017 |
| Second qualifying round | 14 July 2017 | 27 July 2017 | 3 August 2017 | |
| Play-off | Play-off round | 4 August 2017 | 17 August 2017 | 24 August 2017 |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 25 August 2017 | 14 September 2017 | |
| Matchday 2 | 28 September 2017 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 19 October 2017 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 2 November 2017 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 23 November 2017 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 7 December 2017 | |||
| Knockout phase | Round of 32 | 11 December 2017 | 15 February 2018 | 22 February 2018 |
| Round of 16 | 23 February 2018 | 8 March 2018 | 15 March 2018 | |
| Quarter-finals | 16 March 2018 | 5 April 2018 | 12 April 2018 | |
| Semi-finals | 13 April 2018 | 26 April 2018 | 3 May 2018 | |
| Final | 16 May 2018 | 23 May 2018 | ||
Qualifying rounds
In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams are divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2017 CONCACAF club coefficients, and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.
First qualifying round
The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 19 June 2017. The first legs were held on 13 and 19 July, and the second legs were played on 20 and 22 July 2017.
| Team 1 | Agg.
|
Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Junior Stars 
|
2–3 |  Attackers
|
2–2 | 0–1 |
Funmakers 
|
2–3 | Juventus Managua
|
1–0 | 1–3 |
Garden Hotspurs 
|
3–2 |  Empire
|
1–1 | 2–1 |
Small World United 
|
2–7 |  System 3
|
2–2 | 0–5 |
St. John's 
|
4–3 |  Paradise
|
3–1 | 1–2 |
| Rendezvous
|
3–2 |  Robinhood
|
1–1 | 2–1 |
La Gauloise 
|
4–2 |  Ouanaminthe
|
3–1 | 1–1 |
| Kicks United
|
1–2 |  Sugar Boys
|
1–1 | 0–1 |
Vitesse 
|
1–2 |  Racing Club Aruba
|
1–1 | 0–1 |
| Concordia
|
0–5 |  Centro Barber
|
0–1 | 0–4 |
Positive Vibes Victory
 |
6–3 |  South East
|
5–3 | 1–0 |
Samaritaine 
|
4–4 (a) | St. Paul's United
|
2–1 | 2–3 |
Cayenne 
|
2–6 |  Academy
|
2–1 | 0–5 |
| Mt. Rich
|
2–2 (4–3 p) | AFC Academy
|
1–1 | 1–1 ( a.e.t. )
|
Dynamos
 |
0–5 | Atlético Fajardo
|
0–2 | 0–3 |
| Hard Rock
|
2–1 |  Northern United All Stars
|
1–0 | 1–1 |
| Rivière-Pilote
|
0–1 | CS Moulien
|
0–0 | 0–1 |
| Village Superstars
|
2–4 |  Humble Lions
|
2–1 | 0–3 |
United
|
1–5 |  Police United
|
1–3 | 0–2 |
Rémire
|
4–3 | Rovers
|
3–1 | 1–2 |
| Juventus
|
2–13 |  Atlético Pantoja
|
1–9 | 1–4 |
| Walking Boyz Company
|
2–1 | C&D Connection
|
2–0 | 0–1 |
Devonshire Cougars 
|
2–2 (a) |  Ciego de Ávila
|
0–1 | 2–1 |
| One Love United
|
3–0 | Marigot
|
3–0 | 0–0 |
| Verdes
|
3–3 (a) | Le Geldar
|
1–3 | 2–0 |
| Golden Lion
|
4–4 (a) | Amical Club
|
4–4 | 0–0 |
| Dakota
|
4–4 (a) | Exodus
|
1–1 | 3–3 |
| Salsa Ballers
|
2–1 | Uruguay
|
2–1 | 0–0 |
Atlético San Cristóbal
|
3–6 | Villa Clara
|
3–3 | 0–3 |
| Hope International
|
1–0 | Flames United
|
1–0 | 0–0 |
| North Village Rams
|
5–1 | Rebels
|
2–1 | 3–0 |
| UWI
|
4–2 | R.V. Juniors
|
3–2 | 1–0 |
Second qualifying round
The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 14 July 2017. The first legs were played on 27 July, and the second legs were played on 3 August 2017.
Play-off round
The draw for the play-off round was held on 4 August 2017. The first legs were played on 17 August, and the second legs were played on 24 August 2017.
| Team 1 | Agg.
|
Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jong Holland
|
3–5 | Sugar Boys
|
3–2 | 0–3 |
Buxton United 
|
4–0 | St. Louis Stars
|
2–0 | 2–0 |
| USR
|
0–4 |  Toluca
|
0–2 | 0–2 |
| Scholars International
|
4–2 | Hard Rock
|
3–0 | 1–2 |
| Beaches
|
1–2 | Don Bosco
|
1–1 | 0–1 |
| Centro Barber
|
3–2 | Barbados Defence Force
|
0–1 | 3–1 |
Isidro Metapán 
|
3–2 | Amical Club
|
2–2 | 1–0 |
| Islanders
|
3–7 | Humble Lions
|
1–4 | 2–3 |
| Inter Moengotapoe
|
1–2 | Nacional
|
0–2 | 1–0 |
| Devonshire Cougars
|
5–3 | Hope International
|
2–2 | 3–1 |
Real Salt Lake 
|
4–4 (a) | Mt. Rich
|
1–2 | 3–2 |
Robin Hood
|
2–7 | Pastures
|
0–7 | 2–0 |
| Survivals
|
3–5 | Helenites
|
1–2 | 2–3 |
| Elite
|
2–1 | Portmore United
|
1–0 | 1–1 |
| Scherpenheuvel
|
4–2 |  Academia Quintana
|
2–1 | 2–1 |
| Sonsonate
|
5–1 | Dublanc
|
3–0 | 2–1 |
Diriangén 
|
5–0 | Western Warriors
|
4–0 | 1–0 |
| North Village Rams
|
0–3 |  Real España
|
0–2 | 0–1 |
| One Love United
|
2–4 | Hoppers
|
0–1 | 2–3 |
| Police United
|
4–5 | Walking Boyz Company
|
2–3 | 2–2 |
| St. John's
|
1–3 | Atlético Fajardo
|
1–2 | 0–1 |
| System 3
|
3–2 | UWI
|
3–1 | 0–1 |
Group stage
System 3
