2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League

The 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2016–17 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons)^[1][2] was the 9th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 52nd edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League

2016–17 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League
Tournament details
Dates	August 2, 2016 – April 26, 2017
Teams	24 (from 12 associations)
Final positions
Champions	Pachuca (5th title)
Runners-up	UANL
Tournament statistics
Matches played	62
Goals scored	197 (3.18 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Hirving Lozano (8 goals)
Best player(s)	Franco Jara
Best young player	Hirving Lozano
Best goalkeeper	Alfonso Blanco
Fair play award	FC Dallas
← 2015–16 2018 →

Pachuca won their fifth title, and their first since 2009–10, by defeating UANL 2–1 on aggregate in the final. As the winner of the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League, Pachuca qualified as the CONCACAF representative at the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.^[3] América won the previous two tournaments, but did not qualify for this tournament and were unable to defend their title.

Qualification

Monterrey

Pachuca

UNAM

Portland Timbers

New York Red Bulls

FC Dallas

Sporting Kansas City

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Costa Rica

Olimpia

Honduras Progreso

Suchitepéquez

Antigua

Árabe Unido

Plaza Amador

Alianza

Dragón

Real Estelí

Police United

Trinidad and Tobago

Don Bosco

Monterrey teams
Monterrey
UANL

Costa Rica teams
Herediano
Saprissa

Trinidad and Tobago teams
Central
W Connection

Location of teams of the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League
Brown: Group A; Red: Group B; Orange: Group C; Yellow: Group D;
Green: Group E; Blue: Group F; Purple: Group G; Pink: Group H.

A total of 24 teams participated in the CONCACAF Champions League: nine from the North American Zone (from three associations), twelve from the Central American Zone (from at most seven associations), and three from the Caribbean Zone (from at most three associations).^[3] Therefore, a maximum of 13 out of the 41 CONCACAF member associations could participate in the tournament.

Clubs could be disqualified and replaced by a club from another association if the club did not have an available stadium that met CONCACAF regulations for safety. If a club's own stadium failed to meet the set standards then it could find a suitable replacement stadium within its own country. However, if it was still determined that the club could not provide the adequate facilities then it ran the risk of being replaced.

North America

Nine teams from the North American Football Union (NAFU) qualified to the Champions League. The allocation to the three NAFU member associations was as follows: four berths for each of Mexico and the United States, and one berth for Canada.

For Mexico, the winners and runners-up of the Liga MX Apertura and Clausura tournaments earned berths in Pot 3 of the tournament's group stage. If a team reached both tournament finals, the vacated berth was reallocated using a formula, based on regular season records, that ensured that two teams qualified via each tournament.

For the United States, three berths were allocated through the Major League Soccer (MLS) regular season and playoffs, to the MLS Cup winners and the regular season Eastern Conference and Western Conference winners (if U.S.-based); the fourth berth was allocated to the winner of its domestic cup competition, the U.S. Open Cup. All four teams were placed in Pot 3. If a team qualified through multiple berths, or if any of the MLS berths were taken by a Canada-based MLS team, the berth was reallocated to the best U.S.-based team in the Supporters' Shield table which had failed to otherwise qualify.

For Canada, the winners of the domestic cup competition, the Voyageurs Cup (competed for in the Canadian Championship), earned the lone Canadian berth into the tournament, in Pot 2 (moved from Pot 1 in the previous edition).^[4]

Central America

Twelve teams from the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) qualified to the Champions League. The allocation to the seven UNCAF member associations was as follows: two berths for each of Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama and El Salvador, and one berth for each of Nicaragua and Belize. The teams from Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, and the first team from Panama were placed in Pot 2, and the second team from Panama and the teams from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Belize were placed in Pot 1 (second team from Panama moved from Pot 2 in the previous edition).

All of these leagues employed a split season with two tournaments in one year, so both tournament champions qualified if there were two available berths (if the same team won both tournaments, the runner-up with the better aggregate record also qualified), or the champion with the better aggregate record qualified if there was only one available berth.

If one or more clubs was precluded, it was supplanted by a club from another Central American association. The reallocation was based on results from previous Champions League tournaments.

Caribbean

Three teams from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) qualified to the Champions League. The three berths, in Pot 1, were allocated to the top three finishers of the CFU Club Championship, a subcontinental tournament open to clubs from the 31 CFU member associations. In order for a team to qualify for the CFU Club Championship, they usually needed to finish as the champions or runners-up of their respective association's league in the previous season, but professional teams could also be selected by their associations if they played in the league of another country.

If any Caribbean club was precluded, it was supplanted by the fourth-place finisher from the CFU Club Championship.

Teams

The following 24 teams (from 12 associations) qualified for the tournament.

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).

Association	Team	Pot	Qualifying method	App	Last App	Previous Best
North America (9 teams)
Mexico 4 berths	UANL	3	2015 Apertura champions	3rd	2015–16	Runners-up (2015–16)
	Pachuca		2016 Clausura champions	3rd	2014–15	Champions (2009–10)
	UNAM		2015 Apertura runners-up	4th	2011–12	Semifinals (2 times)
	Monterrey		2016 Clausura runners-up	4th	2012–13	Champions (3 times)
United States 4 berths	Portland Timbers		2015 MLS Cup champions	2nd	2014–15	Group stage (2014–15)
	New York Red Bulls		2015 MLS Supporters' Shield champions	3rd	2014–15	Group stage (2014–15)
	FC Dallas		2015 MLS Western Conference regular season champions	2nd	2011–12	Group stage (2011–12)
	Sporting Kansas City		2015 U.S. Open Cup champions	3rd	2014–15	Quarterfinals (2013–14)
Canada 1 berth	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	2	2015 Canadian Championship champions	2nd	2015–16	Group stage (2015–16)
Central America (12 teams)
Costa Rica 2 berths	Saprissa	2	2015 Invierno champions	6th	2015–16	Semifinals (2010–11)
	Herediano		2016 Verano champions	7th	2015–16	Semifinals (2014–15)
Honduras 2 berths	Honduras Progreso		2015 Apertura champions	1st	N/A	N/A
	Olimpia		2016 Clausura champions	9th	2015–16	Quarterfinals (2 times)
Guatemala 2 berths	Antigua		2015 Apertura champions	1st	N/A	N/A
	Suchitepéquez		2016 Clausura champions	1st	N/A	N/A
Panama 2 berths	Árabe Unido		2015 Apertura champions	5th	2015–16	Quarterfinals (2 times)
	Plaza Amador	1	2016 Clausura champions	1st	N/A	N/A
El Salvador 2 berths	Alianza		2015 Apertura champions	2nd	2011–12	Preliminary round (2011–12)
	Dragón		2016 Clausura champions	1st	N/A	N/A
Nicaragua 1 berth	Real Estelí		Champions with better aggregate record in 2015–16 season	6th	2014–15	Group stage (3 times)
Belize 1 berth	Police United		Champions with better aggregate record in 2015–16 season	1st	N/A	N/A
Caribbean (3 teams)
Trinidad and Tobago 2 teams	Central	1	2016 CFU Club Championship champions	2nd	2015–16	Group stage (2015–16)
	W Connection		2016 CFU Club Championship runners-up	5th	2015–16	Group stage (4 times)
Haiti 1 team	Don Bosco		2016 CFU Club Championship third place	1st	N/A	N/A

Draw

The draw for the tournament was held on May 30, 2016, 20:00 EDT (UTC−4), at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.^[5][6][7]

The 24 teams were drawn into eight groups of three, with each group containing one team from each of the three pots. Teams from the same association (excluding "wildcard" teams which replace a team from another association) could not be drawn with each other in the group stage, and teams from Mexico and the United States had to be drawn into separate groups.^[3]

The allocation of teams to each pot was based on the results of the last four editions of the competition under the current format:^[5]

• Pot 1 contained the second team from Panama, two teams from El Salvador, one team each from Nicaragua and Belize, and three teams from the Caribbean.
• Pot 2 contained two teams each from Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala, the first team from Panama, and one team from Canada.
• Pot 3 contained four teams each from Mexico and the United States.

Pot 1
Plaza Amador	Alianza	Dragón	Real Estelí
Police United	Central	W Connection	Don Bosco
Pot 2
Herediano	Saprissa	Olimpia	Honduras Progreso
Suchitepéquez	Antigua	Árabe Unido	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Pot 3
UANL	Pachuca	UNAM	Monterrey
Portland Timbers	New York Red Bulls	FC Dallas	Sporting Kansas City

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows.

Stage	Round	First leg	Second leg
Group stage	Matchday 1	August 2–4, 2016
	Matchday 2	August 16–18, 2016
	Matchday 3	August 23–25, 2016
	Matchday 4	September 13–15, 2016
	Matchday 5	September 27–29, 2016
	Matchday 6	October 18–20, 2016
Knockout stage	Quarter-finals	February 21–23, 2017	February 28 – March 2, 2017
	Semi-finals	March 14–15, 2017	April 4–5, 2017
	Final	April 18, 2017	April 26, 2017

Group stage

Main article: 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League group stage

In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners of each group advanced to the quarter-finals of the knockout stage.

Tiebreakers

The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order (Regulations, II. D. Tie-Breaker Procedures):[3] Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goal difference in all group matches; Goals scored in all group matches; Away goals scored in all group matches; Drawing of lots.

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		UNA	HON	WCO
1	UNAM	4	3	0	1	15	5	+10	9	Quarter-finals		—	2−0	8−1
2	Honduras Progreso	4	2	1	1	4	4	0	7			2–1	—	1–0
3	W Connection	4	0	1	3	4	14	−10	1			2–4	1–1	—

Source: CONCACAF

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SAP	POR	DRA
1	Saprissa	4	2	2	0	11	3	+8	8	Quarter-finals		—	4–2	6−0
2	Portland Timbers	4	2	1	1	7	7	0	7			1−1	—	2–1
3	Dragón	4	0	1	3	2	10	−8	1			0−0	1–2	—

Source: CONCACAF

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		VAN	SKC	CEN
1	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	4	4	0	0	10	2	+8	12	Quarter-finals		—	3–0	4–1
2	Sporting Kansas City	4	1	1	2	6	8	−2	4			1–2	—	3–1
3	Central	4	0	1	3	4	10	−6	1			0–1	2–2	—

Source: CONCACAF

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		ÁRA	MON	DON
1	Árabe Unido	4	4	0	0	12	5	+7	12	Quarter-finals		—	2–1	2–0
2	Monterrey	4	2	0	2	9	5	+4	6			2–3	—	3–0
3	Don Bosco	4	0	0	4	2	13	−11	0			2–5	0–3	—

Source: CONCACAF

Group E

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		PAC	OLI	POL
1	Pachuca	4	3	1	0	19	4	+15	10	Quarter-finals		—	1–0	3–0
2	Olimpia	4	2	1	1	13	6	+7	7			4–4	—	4–0
3	Police United	4	0	0	4	1	23	−22	0			0–11	1–5	—

Source: CONCACAF

Group F

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		NYR	ALI	ANT
1	New York Red Bulls	4	2	2	0	5	1	+4	8	Quarter-finals		—	1–0	3–0
2	Alianza	4	1	2	1	5	4	+1	5			1–1	—	1–1
3	Antigua	4	0	2	2	2	7	−5	2			0–0	1–3	—

Source: CONCACAF

Group G

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		UAN	HER	PLA
1	UANL	4	3	0	1	9	3	+6	9	Quarter-finals		—	3–0	3–1
2	Herediano	4	1	1	2	4	7	−3	4			1–3	—	2–0
3	Plaza Amador	4	1	1	2	3	6	−3	4			1–0	1–1	—

Source: CONCACAF

Group H

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		DAL	SUC	EST
1	FC Dallas	4	2	2	0	8	4	+4	8	Quarter-finals		—	0–0	2–1
2	Suchitepéquez	4	1	2	1	4	6	−2	5			2–5	—	1–0
3	Real Estelí	4	0	2	2	3	5	−2	2			1–1	1–1	—

Source: CONCACAF

Knockout stage

Main article: 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League knockout stage

In the knockout stage, the eight teams played a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg. The away goals rule was used if the aggregate score was level after normal time of the second leg, but not after extra time, and so a tie was decided by penalty shoot-out if the aggregate score was level after extra time of the second leg (Regulations, II. D. Tie-Breaker Procedures).^[3]

Seeding

The qualified teams were seeded 1–8 in the knockout stage according to their results in the group stage.

Seed	Grp	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	C	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	4	4	0	0	10	2	+8	12
2	D	Árabe Unido	4	4	0	0	12	5	+7	12
3	E	Pachuca	4	3	1	0	19	4	+15	10
4	A	UNAM	4	3	0	1	15	5	+10	9
5	G	UANL	4	3	0	1	9	3	+6	9
6	B	Saprissa	4	2	2	0	11	3	+8	8
7	H	FC Dallas	4	2	2	0	8	4	+4	8
8	F	New York Red Bulls	4	2	2	0	5	1	+4	8

Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Away goals scored; 5) Wins; 6) Away wins; 7) Drawing of lots (Regulations, II. D. Tie-Breaker Procedures).^[3]

Bracket

	Quarter-finals							Semi-finals							Final
	5	UANL	1	3	4
	4	UNAM	1	0	1
								5	UANL	2	2	4
								1	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	0	1	1
	8	New York Red Bulls	1	0	1
	1	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	1	2	3
															5	UANL	1	0	1
															3	Pachuca	1	1	2
	7	FC Dallas	4	1	5
	2	Árabe Unido	0	2	2
								7	FC Dallas	2	1	3
								3	Pachuca	1	3	4
	6	Saprissa	0	0	0
	3	Pachuca	0	4	4

Quarter-finals

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
New York Red Bulls	1–3	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	1–1	0–2
FC Dallas	5–2	Árabe Unido	4–0	1–2
Saprissa	0–4	Pachuca	0–0	0–4
UANL	4–1	UNAM	1–1	3–0

Semi-finals

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
UANL	4–1	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	2–0	2–1
FC Dallas	3–4	Pachuca	2–1	1–3

Final

Main article: 2017 CONCACAF Champions League final

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
UANL	1–2	Pachuca	1–1	0–1

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Hirving Lozano	Pachuca	8
2	Franco Jara	Pachuca	6
3	José González	Árabe Unido	5
	Cristian Techera	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
5	Óscar Guerrero	Alianza	4
6	Kellyn Acosta	FC Dallas	3
	Marvin Angulo	Saprissa
	Rolando Blackburn	Saprissa
	Edwin Cardona	Monterrey
	Carlo Costly	Olimpia
	Eduardo Herrera	UNAM
	Víctor Moncada	Honduras Progreso
	Alfonso Nieto	UNAM
	Yendrick Ruiz	Herediano
	Jonathan Urretaviscaya	Pachuca

Source: CONCACAF.com^[8]

Awards

Award	Player	Team
Golden Ball[9]	Franco Jara	Pachuca
Golden Boot[10]	Hirving Lozano	Pachuca
Golden Glove[11]	Alfonso Blanco	Pachuca
Best Young Player[12]	Hirving Lozano	Pachuca
Fair Play Award	—	FC Dallas

Week	Player of the week		Goalkeeper of the week
	Player	Team	Player	Team
Group stage
Week 1	Luis Quintana[13]	UNAM	Justo Lorente[14]	Real Estelí
Week 2	Marvin Angulo[15]	Saprissa	Manuel Sosa[16]	Suchitepéquez
Week 3	Yoel Bárcenas[17]	Árabe Unido	Keith Allen[18]	Police United
Week 4	Hirving Lozano[19]	Pachuca	Miguel Lloyd[20]	Árabe Unido
Week 5	Cristian Techera[21]	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Woodrow West[22]	Honduras Progreso
Week 6	Fidel Martínez[23]	UNAM	James Elan[24]	Don Bosco
Knockout stage
Week 7	Matías Britos[25]	UNAM	Alfonso Blanco[26]	Pachuca
Week 8	Jonathan Urretaviscaya[27]	Pachuca	Alfonso Blanco[28]	Pachuca
Week 9	Eduardo Vargas[29]	UANL	Chris Seitz[30]	FC Dallas
Week 10	Javier Aquino[31]	UANL	David Ousted[32]	Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Prize money

The four semi-finalists received prize money from CONCACAF.^[33]

Round	No. of clubs receiving money	Prize money per club
Champions	1	$500,000
Runners-up	1	$300,000
Semi-finalists	2	$200,000
Total	4	$1,200,000

See also

• 2017 FIFA Club World Cup