2023 CONCACAF Champions League

The 2023 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2023 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th and final edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its former name, and overall the 58th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.[1]

2023 CONCACAF Champions League
2023 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League
BMO Stadium in Los Angeles hosted the second leg of the final
Tournament details
Dates7 March – 4 June
Teams16 (from 8 associations)
Final positions
Champions León (1st title)
Runners-up Los Angeles FC
Tournament statistics
Matches played30
Goals scored82 (2.73 per match)
Top scorer(s) Denis Bouanga
(7 goals)
Best player(s) Víctor Dávila
Best young player Fidel Ambríz
Best goalkeeper John McCarthy
Fair play award Los Angeles FC

Seattle Sounders FC were the title holders, but they did not qualify for this tournament and were unable to defend their title.

León won their first title, defeating Los Angeles FC of MLS in the final 3–1 on aggregate. As winners, they earned the right to play in the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia as well as the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup alongside the winners from 2021 to 2024.[2]

Teams

The following 16 teams (from eight associations) qualified for the tournament.[3]

In the following table, the number of appearances, last appearance, and previous best result count only those in the CONCACAF Champions League era starting from 2008–09 (not counting those in the era of the Champions' Cup from 1962 to 2008).

Direct entrants (10 teams)
Association Team Qualifying method App. (last) Previous best (last)
 Mexico (4 berths) Atlas Apertura 2021 champions and Clausura 2022 champions 1st Debut
León Apertura 2021 runners-up 5th (2022) Quarter-finals (2022)
Pachuca Clausura 2022 runners-up 4th (2016–17) Champions (2016–17)
UANL Best ranked team on aggregate table 7th (2020) Champions (2020)
 United States (4 berths) Los Angeles FC 2022 MLS Cup champions and 2022 MLS Supporters' Shield champions 2nd (2020) Runners-up (2020)
Philadelphia Union 2022 Eastern Conference regular season champions 2nd (2021) Semi-finals (2021)
Orlando City SC 2022 U.S. Open Cup champions 1st Debut
Austin FC Highest-ranked U.S. based Division I club (based on 2022 MLS regular season record) not already qualified 1st Debut
 Canada (1 berth) Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2022 Canadian Championship champions 3rd (2016–17) Semi-finals (2016–17)
 Haiti (CFU berth) Violette 2022 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship champions 1st Debut
Qualified teams from CONCACAF League (6 teams)
Association Team Qualifying method App. (last) Previous best (last)
 Honduras Olimpia 2022 CONCACAF League champions (1st overall) 13th (2021) Semi-finals (2020)
Real España 2022 CONCACAF League semifinalist (3rd overall) 4th (2014–15) Group stage (2011–12)
Motagua 2022 CONCACAF League semifinalist (4th overall) 7th (2022) Round of 16 (2020)
 Costa Rica Alajuelense 2022 CONCACAF League runners-up (2nd overall) 7th (2021) Semi-finals (2014–15)
 El Salvador Alianza 2022 CONCACAF League best-ranked losing quarter-finalist (5th overall) 5th (2020) Round of 16 (2019)
 Panama Tauro 2022 CONCACAF League second-ranked losing quarter-finalist (6th overall) 7th (2018) Quarter-finals (2018)

    Draw
    Location of teams of the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League
    North American Zone Central American Zone Caribbean Zone

    The draw took take place in Miami, Florida, on 7 November 2022.[4] The seeding of teams was based on the CONCACAF Club Index.[5] The CONCACAF Club Index, instead of ranking each team, was based on the on-field performance of the teams that occupied the respective qualifying slots in the previous five editions of the CONCACAF Champions League. To determine the total points awarded to a slot in any single edition of the CONCACAF Champions League, CONCACAF used the following formula:

    Points
    per    		 Participation Win Draw Stage advanced Champions
    43112

    The slots were assigned by the following rules:[6]

    • For teams from North America, nine teams qualified based on criteria set by their association (e.g., tournament champions, runners-up, cup champions), resulting in an assigned slot (e.g., MEX1, MEX2) for each team. If a team from Canada qualified through the CONCACAF League, they were ranked within their association, resulting in an assigned slot (i.e., CAN2) for them.
    • For teams from Central America, they qualified through the CONCACAF League, and were ranked per association by their CONCACAF League ranking, resulting in an assigned slot (e.g., CRC1, CRC2) for each team.
    • For teams from the Caribbean, the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship champions were assigned the Caribbean champion slot (i.e., CCC1). If teams from the Caribbean qualified through the CONCACAF League, they were ranked per association by their CONCACAF League ranking, resulting in an assigned slot (e.g., JAM1, SUR1) for each team.

    The 16 teams were distributed in the pots as follows:[7]

    Pot Rank Slot 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Total Team
    Pot 1 1 MEX2 25 21 24 16 17 103 León
    2 MEX3 17 26 11 20 19 93 Pachuca
    3 MEX1 12 20 11 28 12 83 Atlas
    4 USA4 5 11 12 12 25 65 Austin FC
    5 USA2 7 15 16 16 8 62 Philadelphia Union
    6 USA1 11 11 6 12 16 56 Los Angeles FC
    7 USA3 17 11 11 10 7 56 Orlando City SC
    8 CAN1 21 5 10 9 9 54 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
    Pot 2 9 MEX4 9 4 7 5 7 32 UANL
    10 CRC1 5 7 6 4 5 27 Alajuelense
    11 HON1 5 4 5 7 5 26 Olimpia
    12 HON2 5 0 11 5 0 21 Real España
    13 PAN1 8 12 0 0 0 20 Tauro
    14 SLV1 7 5 7 0 0 19 Alianza
    15 CCC1 4 4 4 4 0 16 Violette
    16 HON3 0 0 0 0 0 0 Motagua

    Format

    Each tie, including the final, was played over two legs, with each team playing on a home-and-away basis.

    • In the round of 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals, the away goals rule was applied if the aggregate score was tied after the second leg. If still tied, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 12.7).[8]
    • In the final, extra time was played if the match was tied after regulation time. If the score was still tied after extra time, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 12.8).[8]

    Schedule
    Schedule for 2023 CONCACAF Champions League[9]
    Round First leg Second leg
    Round of 16 7–9 March 14–16 March
    Quarter-finals 4–5 April 11–13 April
    Semi-finals 25–26 April 2–3 May
    Final 31 May 4 June

    Bracket
     
    		Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
     
    		                      
     
    		 
     
     
    		 Motagua (a)011
     
    		 
     
    		 Pachuca 011
     
    		 Motagua 000
     
    		 
     
    		 UANL 156
     
    		 UANL (a)011
     
    		 
     
    		 Orlando City SC 011
     
    		 UANL 213
     
    		 
     
    		 León134
     
    		 Tauro 000
     
    		 
     
    		 León 123
     
    		 León 516
     
    		 
     
    		 Violette 022
     
    		 Violette 303
     
    		 
     
    		 Austin FC 022
     
    		 León213
     
    		 
     
    		 Los Angeles FC101
     
    		 Alianza 000
     
    		 
     
    		 Philadelphia Union 044
     
    		 Philadelphia Union 123
     
    		 
     
    		 Atlas 022
     
    		 Olimpia 404
     
    		 
     
    		 Atlas 145
     
    		 Philadelphia Union101
     
    		 
     
    		 Los Angeles FC134
     
    		 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 527
     
    		 
     
    		 Real España 033
     
    		 Vancouver Whitecaps FC000
     
    		 
     
    		 Los Angeles FC 336
     
    		 Alajuelense 022
     
     
    		 Los Angeles FC 314
     

    Round of 16

    In the round of 16, the matchups were decided by draw: R16-1 through R16-8. The teams from Pot 1 in the draw hosted the second leg.

    Summary

    The first legs were played on 7–9 March, and the second legs were played on 14–16 March 2023.[10]

    Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
    Violette 3–2 Austin FC 3–0 0–2
    Tauro 0–3 León 0–1 0–2
    UANL 1–1 (a) Orlando City SC 0–0 1–1
    Motagua 1–1 (a) Pachuca 0–0 1–1
    Vancouver Whitecaps FC 7–3[upper-alpha 1] Real España 5–0 2–3
    Alajuelense 2–4 Los Angeles FC 0–3 2–1
    Olimpia 4–5 Atlas 4–1 0–4
    Alianza 0–4 Philadelphia Union 0–0 0–4

    Notes

    1. Order of legs were reversed after original draw

    Matches
    Violette 3–0 Austin FC
    • Chéry 13', 39'
    • Tarek 47' (o.g.)
    		 Report
    Referee: Selvin Brown (Honduras)
    Austin FC 2–0 Violette
    		 Report
    Attendance: 20,738[11]
    Referee: Oshane Nation (Jamaica)

    Violette won 3–2 on aggregate.

    Tauro 0–1 León
    Report
    León 2–0 Tauro
    		 Report

    León won 3–0 on aggregate.

    Orlando City SC 1–1 UANL
    		 Report
    Attendance: 21,112

    1–1 on aggregate. UANL won on away goals.

    Motagua 0–0 Pachuca
    Report
    Referee: Drew Fischer (Canada)
    Pachuca 1–1 Motagua
    		 Report

    1–1 on aggregate. Motagua won on away goals.

    Vancouver Whitecaps FC 5–0 Real España
    		 Report
    Attendance: 13,644[12]
    Referee: Fernando Hernández (Mexico)
    Real España 3–2 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
    • Montes 67', 86'
    • Rocca 75'
    		 Report
    Referee: Marco Ortiz (Mexico)

    Vancouver Whitecaps FC won 7–3 on aggregate.

    Alajuelense 0–3 Los Angeles FC
    Report
    Referee: Daneon Parchment (Jamaica)
    Los Angeles FC 1–2 Alajuelense
    		 Report
    Attendance: 19,672[13]
    Referee: Adonai Escobedo (Mexico)

    Los Angeles FC won 4–2 on aggregate.

    Olimpia 4–1 Atlas
    		 Report
    Atlas 4–0 Olimpia
    		 Report
    Attendance: 13,697[14]
    Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón (Costa Rica)

    Atlas won 5–4 on aggregate.

    Alianza 0–0 Philadelphia Union
    Report
    Referee: César Ramos (Mexico)
    Philadelphia Union 4–0 Alianza
    		 Report
    Attendance: 8,145[15]
    Referee: Bryan López (Guatemala)

    Philadelphia Union won 4–0 on aggregate.

    Quarter-finals

    In the quarter-finals, the matchups were determined as follows:

    • QF1: Winner R16-1 vs. Winner R16-2
    • QF2: Winner R16-3 vs. Winner R16-4
    • QF3: Winner R16-5 vs. Winner R16-6
    • QF4: Winner R16-7 vs. Winner R16-8

    The winners of round of 16 matchups 1, 3, 5 and 7 hosted the second leg.

    Summary
    Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
    Violette 2–6 León 0–5 2–1
    Motagua 0–6 UANL 0–1 0–5
    Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0–6 Los Angeles FC 0–3 0–3
    Atlas 2–3 Philadelphia Union 0–1 2–2

    Matches
    León 5–0 Violette
    		 Report
    Referee: Ismael Cornejo (El Salvador)
    Violette 2–1 León
    • Chéry 15', 26'
    		 Report
    Referee: Keylor Herrera (Costa Rica)

    León won 6–2 on aggregate.

    UANL 5–0 Motagua
    		 Report

    UANL won 6–0 on aggregate.

    Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0–3 Los Angeles FC
    Report
    Attendance: 11,652
    Los Angeles FC 3–0 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
    		 Report
    Attendance: 18,688
    Referee: Juan Calderón (Costa Rica)

    Los Angeles FC won 6–0 on aggregate.

    Philadelphia Union 1–0 Atlas
    		 Report
    Atlas 2–2 Philadelphia Union
    		 Report

    Philadelphia Union won 3–2 on aggregate.

    Semi-finals

    In the semi-finals, the matchups were determined as follows:

    • SF1: Winner QF1 vs. Winner QF2
    • SF2: Winner QF3 vs. Winner QF4

    The semi-finalists in each tie which had the better performance across all previous rounds hosted the second leg.

    Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Host
    1 (SF1) León 4 3 0 1 9 2 +7 9 Second leg
    2 (SF1) UANL 4 2 2 0 7 1 +6 8 First leg
    1 (SF2) Los Angeles FC 4 3 0 1 10 2 +8 9 Second leg
    2 (SF2) Philadelphia Union 4 2 2 0 7 2 +5 8 First leg
    Source: CONCACAF
    Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Away goals scored; 5) Wins; 6) Away wins; 7) Disciplinary points (1 point for yellow card, 3 points for indirect red card, 4 points for direct red card, 5 points for yellow card and direct red card); 8) Drawing of lots (Regulations Article 12.9.5).

    Summary

    The first legs were played on 25–26 April, and the second legs were played on 2–3 May 2023.

    Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
    UANL 3–4 León 2–1 1–3
    Philadelphia Union 1–4 Los Angeles FC 1–1 0–3

    Matches
    UANL 2–1 León
    		 Report
    León 3–1 UANL
    		 Report

    León won 4–3 on aggregate.

    Philadelphia Union 1–1 Los Angeles FC
    		 Report
    Attendance: 17,676
    Referee: César Ramos (Mexico)
    Los Angeles FC 3–0 Philadelphia Union
    		 Report
    Attendance: 19,985
    Referee: Drew Fischer (Canada)

    Los Angeles FC won 4–1 on aggregate.

    Final
    Main article: 2023 CONCACAF Champions League final

    Summary

    The first leg was played on 31 May, and the second leg was played on 4 June 2023.

    Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
    León 3–1 Los Angeles FC 2–1 1–1
    León 2–1 Los Angeles FC
    		 Report Bouanga 90+6'
    Attendance: 20,517
    Los Angeles FC 0–1 León
    Report
    Attendance: 22,413

    León won 3–1 on aggregate.

    Top goalscorers
      Team eliminated for this round.
    RankPlayerClubBy roundTotal
    goals[16]
    1R11R2 QF1QF2 SF1SF2F1F2
    1 Denis Bouanga Los Angeles FC 3211 7
    2 Miche-Naider Chéry Violette 22 4
    3 Víctor Dávila León 21 3
    Dániel Gazdag Philadelphia Union 111
    Ángel Mena León 111
    Julián Quiñones Atlas 21
    Luis Quiñones UANL 111
    Carlos Vela Los Angeles FC 12
    9 Jorge Benguché Olimpia 2 2
    Julián Carranza Philadelphia Union 2
    Sebastián Córdova UANL 11
    Sebastián Driussi Austin FC 2
    André-Pierre Gignac UANL 2
    Elias Hernández León 11
    Getsal Montes Real España 2
    Andrés Perea Philadelphia Union 2
    Brian Rubio León 11
    Brian White Vancouver Whitecaps FC 11

    Awards
    Award Player Club
    Golden Ball[17] Víctor Dávila León
    Golden Boot[18] Denis Bouanga Los Angeles FC
    Best Young Player[19] Fidel Ambríz León
    Golden Glove[20] John McCarthy Los Angeles FC
    Fair Play Award[21] — Los Angeles FC
    Best XI[22]
    Position Player Club
    GK John McCarthy Los Angeles FC
    DF Diego Palacios
    Aaron Long
    Adonis Frías León
    Iván Moreno
    MF Fidel Ambríz
    Luis Quiñones UANL
    Elías Hernández León
    FW Víctor Dávila
    Denis Bouanga Los Angeles FC
    Carlos Vela

    See also

    Notes
    1. Due to the 2018–2023 Haitian crisis, Violette played their home matches at Estadio Cibao FC in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

    References
    1. "Violette AC win 2022 FCCCC, claim SCCL berth". Concacaf. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
    2. Dunbar, Graham (14 March 2023). "FIFA expands 2026 World Cup again, with Toronto and Vancouver hosting extra matches". CBC Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
    3. "Concacaf Announces Scotiabank Concacaf League Expansion". www.concacafleague.com. 11 February 2019. Archived from the original on 23 June 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
    4. "Concacaf announces details for 2023 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League". CONCACAF. 13 October 2022.
    5. "Q&A: Club Index for 2018 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League Draw". CONCACAF.com. 29 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
    6. "SCCL How Clubs Qualify". CONCACAF Champions League. 9 October 2019. Archived from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
    7. "Club Ranking for the 2023 SCCL". Concacaf. 11 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
    8. "Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League 2023 Regulations" (PDF). CONCACAF.
    9. "Concacaf announces details for 2023 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League". Concacaf. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
    10. "Draw delivers Round of 16 matchups for 2023 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions league". CONCACAF. 7 November 2022.
    11. "Match Recap: ATX vs. VIO, March 14, 2023". MLSsoccer.com. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
    12. Adams, J.J. (8 March 2023). "Whitecaps 5, Real Espana 0: Boom goes the CCL dynamite". The Province. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
    13. "Match Recap: LAFC vs. LDA, March 15, 2023". MLSsoccer.com. 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
    14. "Match Recap: ATL vs. OLI, March 14, 2023". MLSsoccer.com. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
    15. "Match Recap: PHI vs. ALZ, March 14, 2023". MLSsoccer.com. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
    16. "Stats". CONCACAF. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
    17. "Club Leon's Davila earns Scotiabank Best Player Award". CONCACAF. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
    18. "LAFC FW Bouanga earns Qatar Airways Top Scorer Award". CONCACAF. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
    19. "Club Leon's Fidel Ambriz claims Young Player Award". CONCACAF. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
    20. "LAFC's McCarthy secures Best Goalkeeper Award". CONCACAF. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
    21. "Los Angeles FC win Fair Play Award". CONCACAF. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
    22. "Davila, Ambriz, Bouanga headline 2023 SCCL Best XI". CONCACAF. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
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