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U.S. Open Cup champion to participate in CONCACAF Champions League
2007 champion, New England, will occupy one of the four USA spots
The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced the format of the 2008 CONCACAF Champions League today. 24 teams from Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Pamana, the Caribbean and the United States will take part in the tournament that will begin in late August and conclude in April of 2009.
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United States entries (4):
USA1 - Houston Dynamo
(MLS Cup champion)
USA2 - DC United
(MLS Regular Season champion)
USA3 - New England Revolution
(MLS Cup Runner-up)
USA4 - Chivas USA
(MLS Regular Season Runner-up)*
*Slot allocated to the 2007 U.S. Open Cup champion, but New England Revolution already earned "USA3", therefore Chivas USA qualifies as the next highest team
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The Champions League will replace the Champions Cup tournament as the method of determining the CONCACAF representative in the FIFA Club World Cup. The United States will submit four representatives to the competition: the Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup champion and runner-up, the MLS regular season champion and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup champion.
Last year’s Open Cup champion, the New England Revolution will participate in the tournament, but they will occupy the MLS Cup Runner-Up slot. With the Open Cup champion occupying another slot, the next team to qualify is Chivas USA, who finished with the second best record in the MLS regular season.
This marks the first time since 2003 that the U.S. Open Cup champion will automatically qualify for CONCACAF’s regional club championship. That year, the Columbus Crew, winners of the 2002 Open Cup, lost to Mexico’s Monarcas Morelia in the Champions Cup quarterfinals.
Prior to that, the last Open Cup champion to get a place in the Champions Cup was in 1991 when the AAC Eagles (1990 U.S. Open Cup champions) and the Brooklyn Italians (1990 U.S. Open Cup Runner-up) participated. That year, the Eagles were eliminated in the first round, while the Italians advanced to the second round where they would fall 4-1 to CF Puebla, the eventual winners of the tournament.
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