- 22 clubs from eleven Concacaf nations will participate in the fifth edition of the competition
- Draw will determine the pairings for the Preliminary Round and Round of 16 matches, as well as each club's path to the final
Miami, FL (Wednesday, June 9, 2021) – Concacaf has announced that the official draw for the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf League (SCL) will take place on Wednesday, June 16 at 8:00 pm ET, from Miami, FL. The competition is scheduled to kick off on August 3 and will qualify six clubs to the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League (SCCL).
Fans will be able to follow the competition through the Confederation’s partner networks, including TUDN (USA-Spanish), Fox Sports (USA-English) Fox Sports (Mexico), ESPN (Central America), Flow Sports (Caribbean), and other local partners. The event will also be available on Concacaf GO via the Confederation’s Official App and Website, Facebook page, and YouTube channel (subject to territory restrictions).
In total, 22 clubs will participate in the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf League. The clubs qualified for each round are as follows (in alphabetical order by country):
Preliminary Round (12 clubs): Verdes FC (BLZ), Hamilton Forge FC (CAN), Santos de Guapiles (CRC), Comunicaciones FC (GUA), FC Santa Lucia Cotzumalguapa (GUA), CD Marathon (HON), AS Samaritaine (MTQ), Diriangen FC (NCA), CD Universitario (PAN), Metropolitan FA (PUR), 11 Deportivo FC (SLV), and CD FAS (SLV).
Round of 16 (10 clubs): Deportivo Saprissa (CRC), LD Alajuelense (CRC), CD Guastatoya (GUA), CD Olimpia (HON), FC Motagua (HON), Real Estelí FC (NCA), CA Independiente (PAN), CD Plaza Amador (PAN), Alianza FC (SLV), and Inter Moengo Tapoe (SUR).
More information on how clubs qualify for the tournament is available here.
Draw Procedures
The draw will use a single-blind system involving four pots. Pots 1 and 2 will contain the names of the 12 clubs participating in the Preliminary Round, while Pots 3 and 4 will contain the names of the ten clubs qualified for the Round of 16 and the six winners of the six Preliminary Round matchups.
Based on the 2021 Concacaf Club Ranking (more information on the ranking is available here), clubs will be distributed in the pots as follows (in alphabetical order):
Pot 1: 11 Deportivo FC (SLV3), CD FAS (SLV2), CD Marathon (HON3), CD Universitario (PAN3), Metropolitan FA (CCC3), and Santos de Guapiles (CRC3).
Pot 2: AS Samaritaine (CCC4), Comunicaciones FC (GUA3), Diriangen FC (NCA2), FC Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa (GUA2), Hamilton Forge FC (CAN2), and Verdes FC (BLZ1).
Pot 3: Alianza FC (SLV1), CA Independiente (PAN1), CD Olimpia (HON1), CD Plaza Amador (PAN2), Deportivo Saprissa (CRC2), FC Motagua (HON2), LD Alajuelense (CRC1), and Real Estelí FC (NCA1).
Pot 4: CD Guastatoya (GUA1), Inter Moengo Tapoe (CCC2), Winner Preliminary Round 1, Winner Preliminary Round 2, Winner Preliminary Round 3, Winner Preliminary Round 4, Winner Preliminary Round 5, and Winner Preliminary Round 6.
The event will begin with the Preliminary Round draw. Once the first club from Pot 1 is drawn, it will be placed in position A of Preliminary Round matchup 1. The process will be repeated with the remaining five clubs in Pot 1, using position A of matchups 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. The same procedure will be followed for Pot 2, using the B position in the six matchups.
Pots 3 and 4 will be drawn using the same procedure. Clubs draw from Pot 3 will be assigned to positions A1-A8 according to the order in which they are drawn, while Pot 4 will use positions B1-B8.
Competition Schedule
Preliminary Round
August 3-5 (first leg matches)
August 17-19 (second leg matches)
Round of 16
September 21-23 (first leg matches)
September 28-30 (second leg matches)
Quarterfinals
October 19-21 (first leg matches)
November 2-4 (second leg matches)
Semifinals
November 23-25 (first leg matches)
November 30 - December 2 (second leg matches)
Final
December 7-9 (first leg matches)
December 14-15 (second leg matches)
Per competition regulations, the clubs from Pot 1 will host the second leg matches in the Preliminary Round. For the Round of 16, clubs drawn from Pot 3 will host the second leg matches, while the winners of Round of 16 matchups 1, 3, 5 and 7, will host the return leg of the quarterfinals.
For the semifinals and final, the bracket position will determine the matchups and the best performing club in the earlier rounds (based on wins, draws, and, if required, goal difference) will host the second leg matches.