Concacaf confirms details for fourth edition of Concacaf Nations League

Miami, FL – Concacaf has confirmed important details about the 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League. The fourth edition of the competition will continue to feature all 41 men's senior national teams in the region and will be played during the FIFA Match Windows of September, October, and November 2024. The Finals, where a new champion will be crowned, are scheduled for March 2025. 

The competition’s official draw, which will determine the groups for all three leagues, will be conducted on Monday, May 6, in Miami, FL, at 7:00 pm ET. The made-for-tv live event will be widely available for fans across the region to follow and enjoy through the Confederation’s TV partner networks and YouTube channel. Fans can also follow live updates on Concacaf's Social Media platforms.

COMPETITION FORMAT

The Concacaf Nations League will continue to be played in a three-league format (A, B, and C), with the teams distributed into the Leagues according to the results of the preceding edition (2023/24). 

League A: 16 teams (Group Stage and Quarterfinals)

League A includes 16 teams and a quarterfinal round. For Group Stage play, the 12 lowest-ranked League A national teams (based on the Concacaf Rankings) will be split into two groups of six teams each and play in a “Swiss style” league system, with each team playing a total of four games (two at home and two away).

After Group Stage play during the FIFA Match Windows of September and October, the first and second place finishers of each group (four teams in total) will advance to the Quarterfinals, where they will join the four top-ranked League A teams.

The Quarterfinals will be played in a home-and-away format, with the aggregate score winner in each matchup advancing to the Concacaf Nations League Finals. 

League B: 16 teams (Group Stage)

League B will feature 16 teams divided into four groups of four teams. During the FIFA Match Windows of September, October, and November, each team will play every team in its group twice, for a total of six matches per team.

For each FIFA Match Window, matches in each group will be played at a centralized venue instead of the previous home-and-away format. This format change will alleviate some of the travel challenges that Member Associations face due to our region's unique geography and allow them to focus on delivering the best possible football.

The third-best-ranked teams in each group will host the September matches, the second-best-ranked teams will host the October matches, and the best-ranked teams will host the decisive November matches. If a team is unable to host matches, Concacaf will reserve the right to select a venue.

League C: 9 teams (Group Stage)

League C will include nine teams divided into three groups of three teams. During the FIFA Match Windows of September and October, each team will play every team in its group twice, for a total of four matches per team.

Similar to League B, matches in each group will be played at a centralized venue. The second-highest-ranked teams in each group will host the September matches, and the highest-ranked teams will host the October matches.

LEAGUES

The distribution of teams in Leagues A, B, and C has been determined based on the 2023/24 Concacaf Nations League Group Stage results, which include a promotion and relegation system. 

League A (16 teams in alphabetical order): Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, French Guiana (promoted), Guadeloupe (promoted), Guatemala, Guyana (promoted), Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua (promoted), Panama, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States.

League B (16 teams in alphabetical order): Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba (promoted), Bermuda, Bonaire (promoted), Curacao (relegated), Dominica (promoted), Dominican Republic, El Salvador (relegated), Grenada (relegated), Haiti (relegated), Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin (promoted), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Sint Maarten.

League C (9 teams in alphabetical order): Anguilla, Bahamas (relegated), Barbados (relegated), Belize (relegated), British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis (relegated), Turks and Caicos Islands, and the US Virgin Islands.

PROMOTION AND RELEGATION

Promotion and relegation between Leagues will take place at the conclusion of the competition, as follows:

League A: Fifth and sixth-place finishers will be relegated to League B.
League B: Group winners will be promoted to League A and fourth-place finishers will be relegated to League C.
League C: Group winners and the best second-place finisher will be promoted to League B.

SCHEDULE

The 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League will be played during the FIFA Match Windows of September, October, and November 2024. For League A, the Quarterfinals will occur in November 2024.

The Concacaf Nations League Finals, where the competition’s fourth champion will be crowned, will take place in March 2025 at a venue to be announced.

Group Stage: September 2-10, October 7-15, and November 11-19, 2024
Quarterfinals: November 11-19, 2024
Semifinals: March 20, 2025
Final and Third Place Match: March 23, 2025

OFFICIAL DRAW

On Monday, May 6, Concacaf will conduct the  Group Stage draw. The draw involves six pots for League A, four for League B, and three for League C. The teams participating in the Group Stage have been allocated in a pot based on the Concacaf Rankings as of March 31, 2024.

The pots for each League are as follows (listed in ranking order per pot):

League A

Pre-Seeded in the Quarterfinals: Mexico, United States, Panama, and Canada 
Pot 1: Jamaica and Costa Rica 
Pot 2: Honduras and Guatemala 
Pot 3: Trinidad and Tobago and Martinique 
Pot 4: Cuba and Guadeloupe 
Pot 5: Nicaragua and Suriname 
Pot 6: French Guiana and Guyana

League B

Pot 1: Haiti, El Salvador, Curacao, and Dominican Republic
Pot 2: Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Montserrat, and Saint Lucia
Pot 3: Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, and Aruba
Pot 4: Dominica, Bonaire, Saint Martin, and Sint Maarten

League C

Pot 1: Saint Kitts and Nevis, Belize, and Barbados
Pot 2: Bahamas, Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos Islands 
Pot 3: British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands, and Anguilla

The draw will be executed using a single-blind system and one league at a time. Starting with League C, the first team from Pot 1 will be drawn and assigned to Group A, position A1, followed by the second team in Group B, position B1, and the third team in Group C, position C1. The same process will be followed for the remaining League C Pots and Leagues B and A, using the predetermined number of groups and pots for each League. At the end of the draw, each group will contain no more than one team from each pot.

2025 CONCACAF GOLD CUP

As previously announced, the 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League will serve as the qualifiers for next summer’s 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup. Concacaf will announce the exact qualifying criteria at a later date.