This week, the CONCACAF Champions League continues with appearances by MLS clubs Sporting Kansas City and the New York Red Bulls. For Sporting Kansas City, their game against Central FC will be their first match of the tournament. The New York Red Bulls have already built momentum with a 3-0 win over Guatemalan club Antigua GFC, and will look to continue to build their commanding group lead.
CONCACAF Champions League is an annual competition where the best clubs in the CONCACAF region compete to determine who is the best club in Central and North America, as well as the Caribbean. North America is given five berths in the tournament: one for the winner of the Canadian Championship, one for the winner of the US Open Cup, one for each of the MLS conference winners, and one for the winner of the MLS cup. If there is any overlap, MLS team’s are ranked by their regular season records and the team ranked highest will join the tournament. This year’s competition features five MLS clubs: the Portland Timbers, FC Dallas, the Vancouver Whitecaps, Sporting Kansas City, and the New York Red Bulls.
Tonight,, Sporting Kansas City will challenge Central FC, a Trinidad and Tobago Pro Team. Sporting Kansas City will be looking to make a strong start to their tournament, while Central FC will be looking to recover after losing 1-0 to the Vancouver Whitecaps two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, on the same night, the New York Red Bulls will take on Alianza FC, a club from El Salvador. The New York Red Bulls took a commanding lead in their group after winning 3-0 against Antigua GFC two weeks ago. But Alianza will be looking for a fight, as they look for three points in their first match of the tournament.
Right now, the clubs are playing in the group stage of the tournament. The clubs are divided into eight groups of three. After the group stage, the winner of each group will move on to the quarterfinals. The competition streaks throughout the year, with the final match being played at the end of April 2017.
This year could be the first time that a MLS club lifts the Champions League trophy. The Montreal Impact were the last team to make it to the Champions League Finals, losing in the 2014-2015 season to Mexican club América. An MLS club has won the Champions Cup, a competition that preceded the Champions League. The last team to do so was the LA Galaxy in 2000.
Could this be the year that an MLS club is named the best in CONCACAF? Keep up with the competition and find out! Games continue tonight, August 16th, with Sporting Kansas City taking on Central FC at 8:00pm and the New York Red Bulls taking on Alianza FC at 10:00pm. You can catch all the matches live on the CONCACAF Champions League Facebook.
