Eight teams will battle for a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2014

MIAMI (January 6, 2014) – The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced today the schedule for the 2013-14 CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals.

The action will kick off with a Central American showdown on Monday, March 10, as Costa Rica’s Alajuelense will host Arabe Unido of Panama at the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto Scotiabank.

The San Jose Earthquakes will host the first leg of its series against Toluca from Mexico on Tuesday, March 11 at Buck Shaw Stadium. The first leg of the quarterfinal matches concludes on Wednesday, March 12, with two Mexican teams traveling to the United States. Sporting Park will be the venue for the Sporting Kansas City-Cruz Azul encounter. Later that evening, Club Tijuana will meet the LA Galaxy at the StubHub Center.

“The newly released knockout-round schedule for this edition of the CONCACAF Champions League highlights the exciting matchups we can expect in the upcoming quarterfinals and beyond,” said CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb. “We know that the atmosphere in all the venues will be intense as these eight fine teams seek to take another step towards becoming the top club in CONCACAF and representing the Confederation at the FIFA Club World Cup later this year.”

Second-leg action begins on Tuesday, March 18, at the Estadio Caliente in Tijuana, Mexico, with Tijuana and the LA Galaxy looking for a spot in the semifinals. On Wednesday, March 19, Toluca will face the San Jose Earthquakes in Toluca, followed by Cruz Azul taking on Sporting Kansas City in Mexico City. Quarterfinal play concludes on Thursday, March 20, when Arabe Unido welcomes Alajuelense to Panama City.

The first and second legs of the semifinals will be played from April 1-3 and April 8-10, respectively. The semifinal pairings will pit the winner of Toluca-San Jose Earthquakes against the winner of Arabe Unido- Alajuelense, while the Cruz Azul-Sporting KC winner will play the side that emerges from the Club Tijuana-LA Galaxy match-up.

The semifinal winners will meet in the two-leg CONCACAF Champion League Final, which will be played April 15-17 and April 22-24.

The winner of the 2013-14 CONCACAF Champions League will earn a berth to the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2014.

2013-14 CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – CHAMPIONSHIP STAGE

QUARTERFINALS

1st Leg – March 10-13

Monday, March 10

(5) LD Alajuelense (CRC) vs. (4) Deportivo Arabe Unido (PAN) – 10pm ET (8pm local) at Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto Scotiabank

Tuesday, March 11

(8) San Jose Earthquakes (USA) vs. (1) Deportivo Toluca (MEX) – 10pm ET (7pm local) at Buck Shaw Stadium

Wednesday, March 12

(7) Sporting Kansas City (USA) vs. (2) Cruz Azul (MEX) – 8pm ET (7pm local) at Sporting Park

(6) LA Galaxy (USA) vs. (3) Club Tijuana (MEX) – 10pm ET (7pm local) at StubHub Center

2nd Leg – March 18-20

Tuesday, March 18

(3) Club Tijuana (MEX) vs. (6) LA Galaxy (USA) – 10pm ET (7pm local) at Estadio Caliente

Wednesday, March 19

(1) Deportivo Toluca (MEX) vs. (8) San Jose Earthquakes (USA) – 8pm ET (6pm local) at Estadio Nemesio Díez

(2) Cruz Azul (MEX) vs. (7) Sporting Kansas City (USA) – 10pm ET (8pm local) at Estadio Azul

Thursday, March 20

(4) Deportivo Arabe Unido (PAN) vs. (5) LD Alajuelense (CRC) – 10pm ET (9pm local) at Estadio Rommel Fernández

SEMI-FINALS

1ST Leg – April 1-3 (TBD)

SF1 – TBD – (4) Deportivo Arabe Unido / (5) LD Alajuelense winner vs. (1) Deportivo Toluca / (8) San Jose Earthquakes winner

SF2 – TBD – (3) Club Tijuana/ (6) LA Galaxy winner vs. (2) Cruz Azul/ (7) Sporting Kansas City winner

2nd Leg – April 8-10 (TBD)

SF1 – TDB – (1) Deportivo Toluca/ (8) San Jose Earthquakes winner vs. (4) Deportivo Arabe Unido/ (5) LD Alajuelense winner

SF2 – TBD – (2) Cruz Azul / (7) Sporting Kansas City winner vs. (3) Club Tijuana/ (6) LA Galaxy winner

FINALS

1ST Leg –  April 15-17 – Winner SF2 vs. Winner SF 1  (TBD)

2nd Leg –  April 22-24 – Winner SF 1 vs. Winner SAF 2   (TBD)

Quarterfinals seeding (based on group stage results)

1- Deportivo Toluca

2- Cruz Azul FC

3- Club Tijuana

4- Deportivo Árabe Unido

5- LD Alajuelense

6- LA Galaxy

7- Sporting Kansas City

8- San Jose Earthquakes

Quarterfinal matchups (originally announced on October 25, 2013):

Deportivo Toluca (1) vs. San Jose Earthquakes (8)

Cruz Azul FC (2) vs. Sporting Kansas City (7)

Club Tijuana (3) vs. LA Galaxy (6)

Deportivo Árabe Unido (4) vs. LD Alajuelense (5)