User:Rylesbourne/sandbox/2024–25 CONCACAF Champions League league phase
The 2024–25 CONCACAF Champions League league phase began on 17 September 2024 and will end on 29 January 2025. A total of 36 teams are competing in the league phase to decide the 24 places in the knockout phase of the 2024–25 CONCACAF Champions League.
Aston Villa, Bologna, Brest, Girona and Slovan Bratislava made their debut appearances in the Champions League since the introduction of the group stage. Brest and Girona also made their debut appearances in European football. A total of 16 national associations are represented in the league phase.
This is the first season with the single-league format, which replaces the group format used until the previous season. With the format change, the number of matches prior to the knockout phase will increase from 96 to 144. Pachuca' Kenan Yıldız was the first-ever goalscorer of the competition's league phase.
Format
[edit]Each team will play eight matches, four at home and four away, against eight different opponents, with all 36 teams ranked in a single league table. Teams were separated into four pots based on their 2024 CONCACAF club coefficients, and each team will play two teams from each of the four pots – one at home and one away. The top eight ranked teams will receive a bye to the round of 16. The teams ranked from 9th to 24th will contest the knockout phase play-offs, with the teams ranked from 9th to 16th seeded for the draw. Teams ranked from 25th to 30th transfer to the 2024–25 CONCACAF SuperLiga knockout phase, while teams ranked 31st through 36th transfer to the 2024–25 CONCACAF Confederations League knockout phase.
Tiebreakers
[edit]Teams will be ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If two or more teams are equal on points upon completion of the league phase, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine their rankings:
- Goal difference;
- Goals scored;
- Away goals scored;
- Wins;
- Away wins;
- Higher number of points obtained collectively by league phase opponents;
- Superior collective goal difference of league phase opponents;
- Higher number of goals scored collectively by league phase opponents;
- Lower disciplinary points total (direct red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);
- UEFA club coefficient.
During the league phase, criteria 1 to 5 will be used to rank teams who have an equal number of points. Should any teams be equal on points and tied on the first five criteria, they will be considered equal in position and sorted alphabetically. Criteria 6 to 10 will only be used to break ties upon completion of all matches.
Teams and seeding
[edit]The 36 teams were divided into four pots of nine teams each, with the Champions League title holders automatically placed as the top seed of pot 1. All remaining teams were allocated to pots based on their 2024 CONCACAF club coefficients. The participants include:
- 29 teams which entered at this stage
- 8 winners of the play-off round (4 from the Champions Path, 4 from the League Path)
| Key to colours |
|---|
| Teams ranked 1 to 8 advance to the round of 16 as a seeded team |
| Teams ranked 9 to 16 advance to the knockout phase play-offs as a seeded team |
| Teams ranked 17 to 24 advance to the knockout phase play-offs as an unseeded team |
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Notes
- TH Champions League title holders (automatic top seed of pot 1)
- EL Europa League title holders
- CP Winners of the play-off round (Champions Path)
- LP Winners of play-off round (League Path)
Draw
[edit]The draw for the league phase pairings was held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on 29 August 2024, 18:00 CEST. All 36 teams were manually drawn using physical balls. For every team manually drawn, a guest on stage presses the button for the automated software to digitally drew their opponents at random, determining which of their matches were at home and which ones away. Each team will face two opponents from each of the four pots, one of which they will face at home and one away. Teams could not face opponents from their own association, and could only be drawn against a maximum of two sides from the same association. The draw started with Pot 1, assigning opponents to all teams, one after the other, and continued with the other pots in ascending order until all teams were assigned their opponents.
The switch to a primarily computer-based draw was made due to issues with the complexity and duration required by a manual draw.
League phase table
[edit]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Philadelphia Union
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | +13 | 6 | Advance to round of 16 (seeded) |
| 2 |  Guadalajara
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | +9 | 6 | |
| 3 | UANL
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2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 6 | |
| 4 | Monterrey
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 6 | |
| 5 |  Alajuelense
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2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 6 | |
| 6 | América
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2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 6 | |
| 7 | Columbus Crew
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 6 | |
| 8 | Portland Timbers
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 6 | |
| 9 | FC Cincinnati
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2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 6 | Advance to knockout phase play-offs (seeded) |
| 10 | St. Louis City
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2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 6 | |
| 11 |  Toronto FC
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2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 4 | |
| 12 | Pachuca
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2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 4 | |
| 13 | Vancouver Whitecaps
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2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 4 | |
| 14 | Inter Miami
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2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | |
| 15 |  B-67
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2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 | |
| 16 |  Comunicaciones
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 | |
| 17 | Herediano
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 3 | Advance to knockout phase play-offs (unseeded) |
| 18 |  Olimpia
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 19 | Saprissa
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 | |
| 20 |  Mount Pleasant
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 | |
| 21 |  Sporting San Miguelito
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 | |
| 22 |  Academia Quintana
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 1 | |
| 23 |  Defence Force
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 1 | |
| 24 | Municipal
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 | |
| 25 |  Aguila
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 | Transfer to SuperLiga (seeded) |
| 26 |  Diriangén
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 0 | |
| 27 | Alianza
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 0 | |
| 28 | Cavalier
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0 | |
| 29 |  Robinhood
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2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 0 | |
| 30 | Independiente
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2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0 | |
| 31 |  Guyana Defence Force
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2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | −7 | 0 | Transfer to Confederations League (seeded) |
| 32 |  Altitude
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2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | −8 | 0 | |
| 33 |  Cibao
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2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 | −9 | 0 | |
| 34 |  Real Hope
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2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10 | −9 | 0 | |
| 35 |  Scholars International
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10 | −9 | 0 | |
| 36 |  Weymouth Wales
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | −10 | 0 |
Rules for classification: League phase tiebreakers
Results summary
[edit]| Home team | Score | Away team |
|---|---|---|
Extra 1  | – | Extra 2 |
| Extra 3 | – | Extra 4 |
| Extra 5 | – | Extra 6 |
| Extra 7 | – | Extra 8 |
| Extra 9 | – | Extra 10 |
| Extra 11 | – | Extra 12 |
| Extra 13 | – | Extra 14 |
| Extra 15 | – | Extra 16 |
| Extra 17 | – | Extra 18 |
| Extra 19 | – | Extra 20 |
| Extra 21 | – | Extra 22 |
| Extra 23 | – | Extra 24 |
| Extra 25 | – | Extra 26 |
| Extra 27 | – | Extra 28 |
| Extra 29 | – | Extra 30 |
| Extra 31 | – | Extra 32 |
| Extra 33 | – | Extra 34 |
| Extra 35 | – | Extra 36 |
| Home team | Score | Away team |
|---|---|---|
| Extra 1 | – | Extra 2 |
| Extra 3 | – | Extra 4 |
| Extra 5 | – | Extra 6 |
| Extra 7 | – | Extra 8 |
| Extra 9 | – | Extra 10 |
| Extra 11 | – | Extra 12 |
| Extra 13 | – | Extra 14 |
| Extra 15 | – | Extra 16 |
| Extra 17 | – | Extra 18 |
| Extra 19 | – | Extra 20 |
| Extra 21 | – | Extra 22 |
| Extra 23 | – | Extra 24 |
| Extra 25 | – | Extra 26 |
| Extra 27 | – | Extra 28 |
| Extra 29 | – | Extra 30 |
| Extra 31 | – | Extra 32 |
| Extra 33 | – | Extra 34 |
| Extra 35 | – | Extra 36 |