The elite club competition, which is played in a direct elimination format and crowns the regional champion, is the sole path to the FIFA Club World Cup

Miami (Wednesday, November 13, 2019)– The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) today announced the draw procedures and pots for the 2020 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League draw, which will take place Monday, December 9, at the historic University of the Cloister of Sor Juana, in Mexico City, Mexico.

The draw will determine the first-round matchups for the 16 competing clubs in this elite knockout tournament, and the pathway to the final for the region’s best. It will feature a red-carpet style event where media will have the opportunity to interview coaches and legends from participating clubs. Guests from across the world of international football and Concacaf partners will attend a range of activities to celebrate the first step in this competition.

Fans will be able to enjoy all the action through the Confederation’s partner networks, including TUDN (United States), Fox Sports Latin America (Mexico & Central America), ESPN (Central America), TSN (Canada), Flow Sports (Caribbean) and other local partners. For other territories, the event will be available on Concacaf GO (subject to territory restrictions).

The 16 clubs that have qualified for the 2020 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League are (in alphabetical order by country): Montreal Impact (CAN), AD San Carlos (CRC), Deportivo Saprissa (CRC), Alianza FC (SLV), Comunicaciones FC (GUA), CD Olimpia (HON), FC Motagua (HON), Portmore United FC (JAM), Club America (MEX), Club Leon (MEX), Cruz Azul FC (MEX), Tigres UANL (MEX), Atlanta United FC (USA), Los Angeles FC (USA), New York City FC (USA) and Seattle Sounders FC (USA).

More information on how clubs qualify for the competition is available here.

Draw Procedures
The official draw will be executed using a double-blind system and four pots. Pots 1 and 2 will contain the names of the 16 participating clubs, while Pots A and B will contain the sixteen possible bracket positions for the first round of the competition. 

Based on the 2020 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Ranking, which ranks clubs based on the performance of the countries over the last five seasons of play in the competition, the clubs will be distributed evenly in two pots as follows (in alphabetical order by country):

Pot 1: Montreal Impact (CAN), Club America (MEX), Cruz Azul FC (MEX), Tigres UANL (MEX), Atlanta United FC (USA), Los Angeles FC (USA), New York City FC (USA) and Seattle Sounders FC (USA).

Pot 2: AD San Carlos (CRC), Deportivo Saprissa (CRC), Alianza FC (SLV), Comunicaciones FC (GUA), CD Olimpia (HON), FC Motagua (HON), Portmore United FC (JAM) and Club Leon (MEX).

More information on the 2020 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Ranking is available here.

The 16 possible bracket positions will be divided evenly into two pots as follows:

Pot A: A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7 and A8

Pot B: B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7 and B8

The draw will begin by randomly selecting a club from Pot 1, followed by a bracket position from Pot A. The same process will apply for the remaining seven clubs in Pot 1, always using the positions in Pot A. Once the first eight teams have been confirmed, the Pot 2 clubs will be drawn using with the same procedure for the bracket positions with Pot B. 

At the end of the draw, each round of 16 pairing will feature one team from each pot. Additionally, as per the competition regulations, clubs from the same country will not face each other in the round of 16.

For the round of 16, the clubs drawn from Pot 1 will host the return matches, while the winners of matchups 1, 3, 5 and 7 will host the return leg quarterfinals. For the semifinals and finals, the competition bracket will determine the matchups and the club’s will be ranked as per the competition regulations to determine which clubs will host the return leg matches. 

Media Accreditation
Media members and broadcasters wishing to cover the event in person are invited to do so. The coaches of the participating clubs, as well as club legends and guests from the world of international football will be available at the pre-event red-carpet and post-event mixed zone.  

The application process is now open through the Concacaf Media Center. Media members not already registered with Concacaf can begin the accreditation process by registering in the Concacaf Media Center. Once approved for the Concacaf Media Center, users will be able to apply for the tournament itself and the official draw. The deadline to apply for the draw (once approved for the Media Center) is Friday, December 6, 2019 at 5:00 pm local time (6:00 pm ET).