2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup

The 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup is the first edition of the CONCACAF Central American Cup, the first-tier annual international club football competition in the Central American region. It is contested by clubs whose football associations are affiliated with the Central American Football Union (UNCAF), a sub-confederation of CONCACAF.

2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup
Tournament details
Dates1 August – 7 December
Teams20 (from 7 associations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played51
Goals scored146 (2.86 per match)
Top scorer(s)Argentina Agustín Auzmendi (7 goals)

The winners of the 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup will qualify to the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16, and the second through sixth place teams will qualify to Round One.[1]

Teams

Twenty teams from the seven UNCAF member associations qualified for the tournament based on results from their domestic leagues.[2][3][4] For this edition only, Honduras and Costa Rica have been awarded an extra berth based on performance in the 2022 CONCACAF League.[5]

  • Costa Rica and Honduras: 4 berths
  • El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama: 3 berths
  • Nicaragua: 2 berths
  • Belize: 1 berth
Association Team Qualifying method
 Belize (1 berth) Verdes 2022–23 Premier League (Opening and Closing) champions.
 Costa Rica
(4 berths)		 Saprissa 2022–23 Liga FPD Apertura and Clausura champions[6]
Herediano 2022–23 Liga FPD aggregate table best team not yet qualified[6]
Alajuelense 2022–23 Liga FPD aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified[6]
Cartaginés 2022–23 Liga FPD aggregate table 3rd best team not yet qualified[6]
 El Salvador
(3 berths)		 FAS 2022–23 Primera División Apertura champions[7][8]
Jocoro 2022–23 Primera División Apertura runners-up[7][8][Note SLV]
Águila 2022–23 Primera División aggregate table best team not yet qualified[7][8]
 Guatemala
(3 berths)		 Cobán Imperial 2022–23 Liga Nacional Torneo Apertura champions[9]
Xelajú 2022–23 Liga Nacional Torneo Clausura champions[9]
Comunicaciones 2022–23 Liga Nacional aggregate table best team not yet qualified[9]
 Honduras
(4 berths)		 Olimpia 2022–23 Honduran Liga Nacional Apertura and Clausura champions[10]
Olancho 2022–23 Honduran Liga Nacional aggregate table best team not yet qualified[10]
Real España 2022–23 Honduran Liga Nacional aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified[10]
Motagua 2022–23 Honduran Liga Nacional aggregate table 3rd best team not yet qualified[10]
 Nicaragua
(2 berths)		 Real Estelí 2022–23 Liga Primera Apertura and Clausura champions
Diriangén 2022–23 Liga Primera aggregate table best team not yet qualified
 Panama
(3 berths)		 Independiente 2022 Liga Panameña Torneo Clausura and 2023 Liga Panameña Torneo Apertura champions[11][12]
Sporting San Miguelito 2022 Liga Panameña Torneo Clausura and 2023 Liga Panameña Torneo Apertura aggregate table best team not yet qualified[11][12]
Universitario 2022 Liga Panameña Torneo Clausura and 2023 Liga Panameña Torneo Apertura aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified[11][12]
Notes
  1. El Salvador (SLV): Originally, El Salvador's berths were reserved for the 2022 Apertura tournament champions, the 2023 Clausura tournament champions and the best team in the aggregate table,[13] however the Clausura tournament was terminated early without proclaiming a champion due to the events that occurred on 20 May 2023 during the match between Alianza and FAS at Estadio Cuscatlán. As a result, the Salvadoran Football Federation decided to reassign the Clausura champions' berth to the Apertura runners-up.[8]

Draw
Location of teams of the 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup

The draw for the group stage was held on 8 June 2023 in Miami, Florida. The 20 involved teams were previously seeded into five pots of four teams each based on their CONCACAF Club Ranking as of 28 May 2023.[14][15]

Pot 1
Team Rank
Honduras Olimpia 38
Costa Rica Saprissa 47
Guatemala Comunicaciones 49
Costa Rica Alajuelense 51
Pot 2
Team Rank
Honduras Motagua 53
Guatemala Xelajú 57
Costa Rica Herediano 58
Guatemala Cobán Imperial 59
Pot 3
Team Rank
Honduras Real España 60
Panama Independiente 61
Costa Rica Cartaginés 65
Honduras Olancho 67
Pot 4
Team Rank
Panama Sporting San Miguelito 72
El Salvador Águila 79
Panama Universitario 95
El Salvador FAS 109
Pot 5
Team Rank
Nicaragua Real Estelí 116
Nicaragua Diriangén 118
El Salvador Jocoro 132
Belize Verdes 177

For the group stage, the 20 teams were drawn into four groups (Groups A–D) of five containing a team from each of the five pots. Teams from pot 1 were drawn first and were placed in the first position of their group, starting from Group A to Group D. The same procedure was followed for teams from pots 2, 3, 4 and 5, and they were placed in positions 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively, within the group to which they were drawn. Each group must contain no more than two clubs from the same national association.[16]

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.[14]

Stage Round First leg Second leg
Group stage Matchday 1 1–3 August
Matchday 2 8–10 August
Matchday 3 15–17 August
Matchday 4 22–24 August
Matchday 5 29–31 August
Knockout stage Quarterfinals 26–28 September 3 October – 5 October
Semifinals and play-in 24–26 October 31 October – 2 November
Finals 28–30 November 5–7 December

Group stage
Main article: 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup group stage

In the group stage, each group is played on a single home-and-away round-robin basis, with teams playing against each other once, for a total of four matches per team (two home and two away). The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the quarter-finals of the knockout stage.

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SAP CAR UNI COB JOC
1 Costa Rica Saprissa 4 3 1 0 10 0 +10 10 Advance to Quarter-finals — 1–0 — 5–0 —
2 Costa Rica Cartaginés 4 2 1 1 8 3 +5 7 — — 2–2 — 5–0
3 Panama Universitario 4 1 3 0 6 3 +3 6 0–0 — — — 4–1
4 Guatemala Cobán Imperial 4 1 1 2 4 7 −3 4 — 0–1 0–0 — —
5 El Salvador Jocoro 4 0 0 4 2 17 −15 0 0–4 — — 1–4 —
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results (points, goal difference, goals scored); 5) Fair play points; 6) Drawing of lots.

Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification IND EST OLI XEL FAS
1 Panama Independiente 4 3 1 0 11 3 +8 10 Advance to Quarter-finals — 2–1 — — 5–0
2 Nicaragua Real Estelí 4 3 0 1 5 2 +3 9 — — 1–0 1–0 —
3 Honduras Olimpia 4 2 1 1 7 4 +3 7 1–1 — — 2–0 —
4 Guatemala Xelajú 4 1 0 3 3 7 −4 3 1–3 — — — 2–1
5 El Salvador FAS 4 0 0 4 3 13 −10 0 — 0–2 2–4 — —
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results (points, goal difference, goals scored); 5) Fair play points; 6) Drawing of lots.

Group C
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification HER COM RES ÁGU DIR
1 Costa Rica Herediano 4 3 1 0 8 4 +4 10 Advance to Quarter-finals — — 3–2 2–0 —
2 Guatemala Comunicaciones 4 3 0 1 9 4 +5 9 1–2 — 3–1 — —
3 Honduras Real España 4 1 1 2 6 6 0 4 — — — 3–0 0–0
4 El Salvador Águila 4 1 0 3 2 9 −7 3 — 1–4 — — 1–0
5 Nicaragua Diriangén 4 0 2 2 1 3 −2 2 1–1 0–1 — — —
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results (points, goal difference, goals scored); 5) Fair play points; 6) Drawing of lots.

Group D
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ALA MOT SSM OLA VER
1 Costa Rica Alajuelense 4 4 0 0 10 1 +9 12 Advance to Quarter-finals — 5–1 — 1–0 —
2 Honduras Motagua 4 3 0 1 9 5 +4 9 — — 2–0 1–0 —
3 Panama Sporting San Miguelito 4 2 0 2 6 3 +3 6 0–1 — — — 4–0
4 Honduras Olancho 4 1 0 3 3 6 −3 3 — — 0–2 — 3–2
5 Belize Verdes 4 0 0 4 2 15 −13 0 0–3 0–5 — — —
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results (points, goal difference, goals scored); 5) Fair play points; 6) Drawing of lots.

Knockout stage
Main article: 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup knockout stage

The knockout stage will be played on a single-elimination tournament with the following rules:[2]

  • Each tie is played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The home team of the second leg in each tie will be determined separately for each round as follows (Regulations Article 12.11):
    • In the quarter-finals, the group winners will host the second leg.
    • In the semi-finals and play-in, the higher-ranked teams based on total points accumulated in the group stage and the quarterfinals will host the second leg.
    • In the finals, the higher-ranked team based on total points accumulated in the group stage, quarterfinals and semi-finals will host the second leg.
  • In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, if tied on aggregate, the away goals rule would be used. If still tied, the penalty shoot-out would be directly used to determine the winners (Regulations Article 12.10.2).
  • In the play-in and finals, if tied on aggregate, the away goals rule would also be used. If still tied, 30 minutes of extra time would be played but the away goals scored during this time would not serve as a tie-breaking criteria. If still tied after extra time, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 12.10.3).

Qualified teams

The winners and runners-up of each of the four groups in the group stage advanced to the quarter-finals.

Group Winners Runners-up
A Costa Rica Saprissa Costa Rica Cartaginés
B Panama Independiente Nicaragua Real Estelí
C Costa Rica Herediano Guatemala Comunicaciones
D Costa Rica Alajuelense Honduras Motagua

Seeding

Teams will be seeded 1–8 based on results in the group stage and assigned a position in a fixed bracket. For example, the first semi-final will be contested between the winner of the 1 vs. 8 quarter-final and the winner of the 4 vs. 5 quarter-final. For each round, the host of the second leg will be determined based on performance in all previous rounds, including the group stage.

The following is the seeding for the quater-finals round only:

Seed Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Matchups
1 D Costa Rica Alajuelense 4 4 0 0 10 1 +9 12 Match QF1
2 A Costa Rica Saprissa 4 3 1 0 10 0 +10 10 Match QF3
3 B Panama Independiente 4 3 1 0 11 3 +8 10 Match QF4
4 C Costa Rica Herediano 4 3 1 0 8 4 +4 10 Match QF2
5 C Guatemala Comunicaciones 4 3 0 1 9 4 +5 9 Match QF2
6 D Honduras Motagua 4 3 0 1 9 5 +4 9 Match QF4
7 B Nicaragua Real Estelí 4 3 0 1 5 2 +3 9 Match QF3
8 A Costa Rica Cartaginés 4 2 1 1 8 3 +5 7 Match QF1
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 second yellow card/indirect red card, 4 points for direct red card, 5 points for yellow card and direct red card); 8) Drawing of lots (Regulations Article 12.11.4).[2]

Bracket

The bracket was decided based on the quarter-finals seeding.

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
               
5 Guatemala Comunicaciones 0 2 2
4 Costa Rica Herediano 0 3 3
Costa Rica Herediano 2
Costa Rica Alajuelense 2
8 Costa Rica Cartaginés 1 0 1
1 Costa Rica Alajuelense 3 3 6
Costa Rica Winner SF1[†]
Winner SF2[†]
7 Nicaragua Real Estelí 1 2 3
2 Costa Rica Saprissa 0 2 2
Nicaragua Real Estelí
Panama Independiente
6 Honduras Motagua 1 0 1
3 Panama Independiente 1 2 3
Play-in 1
     
Costa Rica Cartaginés 1
Guatemala Comunicaciones 1
Play-in 2
     
Honduras Motagua 2
Costa Rica Saprissa 2
  1. † Order of legs to be decided, with the higher-ranked team in each tie hosting the second leg.

Quarter-finals

The first legs were played on 26–28 September, and the second legs were played on 3–5 October 2023.[17]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Cartaginés Costa Rica 1–6 Costa Rica Alajuelense 1–3 0–3
Comunicaciones Guatemala 2–3 Costa Rica Herediano 0–0 2–3
Real Estelí Nicaragua 3–2 Costa Rica Saprissa 1–0 2–2
Motagua Honduras 1–3 Panama Independiente 1–1 0–2

Play-in

The first legs will be played on 24–26 October, and the second legs will be played on 31 October – 2 November 2023.[18]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Cartaginés Costa Rica PI1 Guatemala Comunicaciones 1–1 31 Oct
Motagua Honduras PI2 Costa Rica Saprissa 2–2 1 Nov

Semi-finals

The first legs will be played on 24–26 October, and the second legs will be played on 31 October – 2 November 2023.[18]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Herediano Costa Rica SF1 Costa Rica Alajuelense 2–2 1 Nov
Real Estelí Nicaragua SF2 Panama Independiente 26 Oct 2 Nov

Final
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Winner SF1/SF2 F Winner SF2/SF1 28–30 Nov 5–7 Dec

Top goalscorers
  Team eliminated for this round.
  Team inactive for this round.
Rank Player Team GS1 GS2 GS3 GS4 GS5 QF1 QF2 PI1 PI2 SF1 SF2 F1 F2 Total
1 Argentina Agustín Auzmendi Honduras Motagua 3112 7
2 Panama Carlos Small Panama Independiente 1112 5
3 Jamaica Javon East Costa Rica Saprissa 121 4
Costa Rica Aarón Suárez Costa Rica Alajuelense 1111
5 Honduras Jorge Benguché Honduras Olimpia 12 3
Mexico José de Jesús Godínez Costa Rica Herediano 21
Cuba Marcel Hernández Costa Rica Cartaginés 111
Honduras Yeison Mejía Honduras Motagua 21
Argentina Ramiro Rocca Honduras Real España 3
Costa Rica Ariel Rodríguez Costa Rica Saprissa 21
Costa Rica Orlando Sinclair Costa Rica Saprissa 21
Costa Rica Johan Venegas Costa Rica Alajuelense 111

See also

References
  1. "Concacaf launches major expansion of its Champions League as part of new calendar of regional club competitions". Concacaf. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  2. "CONCACAF Central American Cup 2023 Regulations" (PDF). CONCACAF. 17 July 2023 [Approved on 24 February 2023]. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  3. "Concacaf announces qualification criteria for Confederation's expanded Champions League starting in 2024". Miami: CONCACAF. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  4. "Four teams complete field for 2023 Central American Cup". Miami: CONCACAF. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  5. "Concacaf announces qualification criteria update for 2023 Concacaf Central American Cup". Miami: CONCACAF. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  6. "NORMAS DE COMPETICIÓN TEMPORADA 2022-2023" (PDF) (in Spanish). UNAFUT. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  7. "BASES DE COMPETENCIA DE LA PRIMERA DIVISION DE FUTBOL PROFESIONAL TEMPORADA 2022-2023" (PDF) (in Spanish). Salvadoran Football Federation. 12 September 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  8. "COMUNICADO OFICIAL ENTRE FESFUT Y PRIMERA DIVISIÓN" (PDF) (in Spanish). Salvadoran Football Federation. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  9. Utrera, Alicia (10 May 2023). "Liga Nacional de Guatemala: estos serán los nuevos criterios para la clasificación a la Copa Centroamericana de la Concacaf" [Liga Nacional de Guatemala: these will be the new qualifying criteria for the CONCACAF Central American Cup] (in Spanish). República. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  10. "BASES DEL TORNEO DE APERTURA Y CLAUSURA 2022-2023 DE LA LIGA NACIONAL DE FUTBOL PROFESIONAL DE PRIMERA DIVISIÓN DE HONDURAS" (PDF) (in Spanish). Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional de Honduras. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  11. "REGLAMENTO COMPETENCIA LPF TEMPORADA - 2022" (PDF). lpf.com.pa (in Spanish). Liga Panameña de Fútbol. 14 January 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  12. "REGLAMENTO COMPETENCIA LPF TEMPORADA - 2023" (PDF). lpf.com.pa (in Spanish). Liga Panameña de Fútbol. 27 December 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  13. Viana, Diego (10 May 2023). "Águila clasificó a la Copa Centroamericana" [Águila qualified for the Central American Cup] (in Spanish). El Gráfico. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  14. "Draw details announced for inaugural Concacaf Central American Cup". CONCACAF. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  15. "Concacaf Club Ranking as of May 28, 2023". CONCACAF. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  16. "Concacaf confirms 2023 Central American Cup draw details". CONCACAF. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  17. "2023 Concacaf Central American Cup Quarterfinal matchups and schedule confirmed". CONCACAF. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  18. "2023 Concacaf Central American Cup Semifinals and Play-In matchups and schedule confirmed". CONCACAF. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
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