March 28, 2024, 04:17:34 PM

Author Topic: CONCACAF confirms discussions about potential Champions League schedule change  (Read 594 times)

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Offline Tallman

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CONCACAF confirms discussions regarding potential Champions League schedule change
By Pablo Maurer (MLSsoccer.com)


MLS fans who’ve long bemoaned the split-year scheduling of the CONCACAF Champions League could soon be in for a welcome change.

According to a source familiar with the situation, CONCACAF is currently batting around the idea of going to a single-year, spring-to-fall schedule for Champions League play. As it stands, the competition takes place from mid-summer of one year until late spring of the next. A new format would likely run from March through November, more or less concurrent with the MLS regular season, the source said.

"This is a discussion item which has come up along with others,” a CONCACAF spokesperson told MLSsoccer.com when reached for comment on Wednesday morning. "Teams, as well as other stakeholders, are constantly surveyed to get their feedback, and we are always looking for ways to improve the Champions League."

On Tuesday evening, after his side’s 2-0 CCL victory over Árabe Unido — one which secured his side’s passage to the quarterfinals next spring — D.C. United head coach Ben Olsen seemed to allude to the potential scheduling change. When asked about his club’s quarterfinal matchup and the challenges of the tournament’s scheduling, the head coach said:

“I’m thrilled that they’re moving the [CCL] to a - how would I say that - in a seasonal way? I don’t … they’re changing things. You guys know that, right?”

The change – which a source says could take place in time for 2017 – would be welcome news to many MLS teams who’ve been critical of the tournament’s current format in the past. Presently, MLS sides play the group stages in the middle of their push towards the MLS Cup Playoffs and are forced to play the knockout stages in preseason form, beginning before they have played a single league match.

Mexican teams, who many would argue have had a distinct advantage in past editions of the tournament, would play the group stage during their spring Clausura and would enter the knockout rounds during their fall Apertura.

A schedule change would also give the team who wins the tournament a better chance at fielding a similar squad in the FIFA Club World Cup. That tournament takes place in December, six months after the CCL winner is currently crowned. This usually means the team that wins the CONCACAF title is vastly different from the one that enters the Club World Cup. A schedule switch would allow the winner of CCL to enter the Club World Cup with the same roster.
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