2018 Caribbean Club Championship Explained

Tourney Name:CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship
Year:2018
Other Titles:2018 Flow CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship
Dates:Group stage:

Final stage:
11–16 May 2018
Country:Group stage:
Trinidad and Tobago
Dominican Republic
Country2:Final stage:
Jamaica
Num Teams:8
Associations:4
Champion Other: Atlético Pantoja
Count:1
Second Other: Arnett Gardens
Third Other: Portmore United
Fourth Other: Central
Matches:17
Goals:43
Player: Miguel Odalis Báez
Goalkeeper: Miguel Odalis Báez
Fair Play: Central
Prevseason:2017
Nextseason:2019

The 2018 Caribbean Club Championship was the 20th edition of the Caribbean Club Championship (also known as the CFU Club Championship), the first-tier annual international club football competition in the Caribbean region, held amongst clubs whose football associations are affiliated with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), a sub-confederation of CONCACAF.

The winners of the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship would qualify to the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League, the second and third place teams would qualify to the 2018 CONCACAF League, while the fourth place team would play against the winners of the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, as long as the Shield winners fulfill the CONCACAF Regional Club Licensing criteria, in a playoff match to determine the final Caribbean spot to the 2018 CONCACAF League.[1]

Cibao were the title holders, but were not eligible to enter since they failed to reach the final of the 2017 Liga Dominicana de Fútbol. For the second season in a row, the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship was won by a team from the Dominican Republic, with Atlético Pantoja crowned champions and qualifying for the CONCACAF Champions League. Runners-up Arnett Gardens and third place Portmore United qualified for the CONCACAF League, but fourth-placed Central lost to Shield winners Club Franciscain in a playoff and failed to qualify for the CONCACAF League.

Teams

The CONCACAF Council, at its meeting on 25 July 2017 in San Francisco, California approved the implementation of the following two-tier competitions for affiliated clubs of Caribbean Member Associations starting in 2018:

The new two-tier format of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship and CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, as well as the teams participating in each tournament, were announced by CONCACAF on 15 December 2017.[2] Among the 31 CFU member associations, four of them were classified as professional leagues and each may enter two teams in the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship.

A total of eight teams from four associations entered the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship (officially the 2018 Flow CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship for sponsorship reasons).[3]

width=250Associationwidth=150Teamwidth=350Qualification method
Atlántico2017 Liga Dominicana de Fútbol champions
Atlético Pantoja2017 Liga Dominicana de Fútbol runners-up
Real Hope2017 Ligue Haïtienne Série d'Ouverture champions
Racing2017 Ligue Haïtienne Série d'Ouverture runners-up
Arnett Gardens2016–17 National Premier League champions
Portmore United2016–17 National Premier League runners-up
Central2016–17 TT Pro League champions
W Connection2016–17 TT Pro League runners-up

Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 21 December 2017, 11:00 EST (UTC−5), at the CONCACAF Headquarters in Miami, United States,[4] and was streamed on YouTube.[5] The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four. The two group stage hosts were placed in Pot 1, while the remaining six teams were placed in Pot 2. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.

The matches were played between 31 January – 4 February 2018 (Group A) and 7–11 February 2018 (Group B).[6] The top two teams of each group advanced to the final stage.

Group A

Host venue: Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, Trinidad and Tobago. All times local, AST (UTC−4).

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Group B

Host venue: Estadio Cibao FC, Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. All times local, AST (UTC−4).

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Final stage

Jamaica was announced as the host nation of the final stage on 1 May 2018.[7] The matches were played between 11–16 May 2018.

Bracket

The semi-final matchups are:

Host venue: Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, Kingston, Jamaica. All times local, EST (UTC−5).

Semi-finals

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Third place match

Winners qualified for 2018 CONCACAF League. Losers advanced to CONCACAF League playoff against the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield winners for a place in the 2018 CONCACAF League.

Final

Winners qualified for 2019 CONCACAF Champions League. Losers qualified for 2018 CONCACAF League.

CONCACAF League playoff

Competition:Qualified teams from 2018 Caribbean club competitions
Continentalcup1:CONCACAF Champions League
Continentalcup2:CONCACAF League
Continentalcup2 Qualifiers:

The CONCACAF League playoff was played between the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship fourth-placed team, Central, and the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield winners, Club Franciscain, with the winners qualifying for the 2018 CONCACAF League.

Top goalscorers

RankPlayerTeamGoals
1 Luis Espinal Atlético Pantoja5
2 Fabian Reid Arnett Gardens4
align=center rowspan=23 Jovan East Portmore Unitedalign=center rowspan=23
Jeremie Lynch Portmore United
align=center rowspan=45 Eduardo Centeno Atlético Pantojaalign=center rowspan=42
Herlyn Cuica Atlántico
Marcus Joseph W Connection
Armando Maita Atlético Pantoja

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: CONCACAF Circular no. 555. August 31, 2017. CONCACAF.
  2. Web site: CONCACAF Announces Expanded CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship for 2018. 15 December 2017. CONCACAF.
  3. Web site: CONCACAF and FLOW ink mega multi-year deal. Sport Caraibe. 23 February 2018.
  4. Web site: Groups and Schedule Set for January Kickoff for Expanded CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship . CONCACAF.com. 21 December 2017.
  5. Web site: CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship 2018 – OFFICIAL DRAW. CONCACAF. 22 December 2017. 21 December 2017.
  6. Web site: Schedule Confirmed for the First Round of the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship. CONCACAF.com. 12 January 2018.
  7. Web site: Jamaica to Host Final Round of the 2018 Flow Concacaf Caribbean Club Championship. CONCACAF.com. 1 May 2018.