Concacaf confirms 2024 Concacaf Central American Cup participating clubs and draw pots

• 20 Central American clubs have qualified for this year’s competition.
• Group Stage draw will take place on Thursday, June 6, at 6:30 pm ET.
• Pots determined based on Concacaf Club Rankings.

Miami, FL (Monday, June 3, 2024)—Concacaf has confirmed the list of 20 clubs that will participate in the 2024 Concacaf Central American Cup. The second edition of the regional cup will be played between July and December 2024, crown Central America’s club champion, and serve as a qualifier for the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup.

Additionally, the Confederation has confirmed key details about the competition’s Group Stage draw, which will be conducted on Thursday, June 6, in Miami, FL, and will determine each club’s path to the Final. Fans will follow the made-for-TV live draw through Concacaf’s partner networks and the Concacaf YouTube Channel starting at 6:30 p.m. ET.

PARTICIPATING CLUBS

20 clubs from seven Concacaf Central American Member Associations will participate in the 2024 Concacaf Central American Cup. All clubs have secured a berth based on their performance in their domestic leagues. The clubs are, in alphabetical order per country:  

Belize (1): Port Layola FC
Costa Rica (4): AD Guanacasteca, CS Herediano, Deportivo Saprissa, LD Alajuelense
El Salvador (3): Alianza FC, CD Aguila, CD LA Firpo
Guatemala (3): Antigua GFC, Comunicaciones FC, CSD Municipal
Honduras (3): CD Olimpia, CD Marathon, FC Motagua
Nicaragua (3): Diriangen FC, Managua FC, Real Esteli FC
Panama (3): CA Independiente, San Francisco FC, Tauro FC

DRAW PROCEDURES AND POTS

On June 6, Concacaf will conduct the draw for the 2024 Concacaf Central American Cup Group Stage. The draw will be executed using a single-blind system involving five pots.

The 20 participating clubs have been distributed into five pots according to their Concacaf Club Rankingas of June 3, 2024. The five pots will be as follows:

Pot 1 (four highest-ranked): Deportivo Saprissa, CD Olimpia, LD Alajuelense, CS Herediano
Pot 2 (four next highest-ranked): CSD Municipal, Comunicaciones FC, Antigua GFC, FC Motagua
Pot 3 (four next highest-ranked): Tauro FC, CD Marathon, CA Independiente, AD Guanacasteca
Pot 4 (four next highest-ranked): San Francisco FC, Alianza FC, Real Esteli FC, CD Aguila
Pot 5 (four lowest-ranked): Diriangen FC, CD LA Firpo, Managua FC, Port Layola FC

The draw will begin by randomly selecting a sphere from Pot 1 and placing that club in Group A, position A1. This process will be replicated for all Pot 1 spheres, with clubs placed in sequential order in positions 1 of Groups B, C, and D.

The same procedure will be followed for Pots 2, 3, 4, and 5, using group positions 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. At the end of the draw, each group will contain one club from each pot and no more than two clubs from the same Member Association.

COMPETITION FORMAT

The 2024 Concacaf Central American Cup will kick off with a Group Stage (four groups of five clubs each), where each club will play every club in their group once, for a total of four matches per club (two at home and two away).

At the conclusion of Group Stage play, the first and second-place finishers in each group will advance to the Knockout Stage. The Knockout Stage will include home-and-away matches, starting with the Quarterfinals, followed by the Semifinals, Play-In, and Final.

The semifinalists and the two play-in winners (six clubs in total) will qualify for the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup. The champion will also receive a bye to the Round of 16 of the Confederation’s 27-club competition.

DATES

Group Stage Week 1: July 30 – August 1, 2024
Group Stage Week 2: August 6-8, 2024
Group Stage Week 3: August 13-15, 2024
Group Stage Week 4: August 20-22, 2024
Group Stage Week 5: August 27-29, 2024
Quarterfinals: September 24-26 and October 1-3, 2024
Semifinals and Play-In: October 29-31and November 5-7, 2024
Final: November 26-28 and December 3-5, 2024

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