2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League

The 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2015–16 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons)^[1][2] was the 8th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 51st edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League

2015–16 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League
Tournament details
Dates	August 4, 2015 – April 27, 2016
Teams	24 (from 12 associations)
Final positions
Champions	América (7th title)
Runners-up	Tigres UANL
Tournament statistics
Matches played	62
Goals scored	159 (2.56 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Emanuel Villa (6 goals)
Best player(s)	Rubens Sambueza
Best young player	Alberth Elis
Best goalkeeper	Hugo González
Fair play award	Querétaro
← 2014–15 2016–17 →

América were the defending champions, and won their second consecutive title, and seventh CONCACAF club title (including the CONCACAF Champions' Cup era), by beating fellow Mexican team Tigres UANL 4–1 on aggregate in the final. As the winner of the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League, they qualified as the CONCACAF representative at the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, their third appearance in the FIFA Club World Cup.^[3][4]

Qualification

UANL

América

Querétaro

Santos Laguna

Seattle Sounders FC

LA Galaxy

D.C. United

Real Salt Lake

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Costa Rica

Guatemala City

Tegucigalpa

El Salvador

Trinidad and Tobago

San Francisco

Árabe Unido

Walter Ferretti

Verdes

Montego Bay United

Guatemala City teams
Comunicaciones
Municipal

Tegucigalpa teams
Motagua
Olimpia

Costa Rica teams
Herediano
Saprissa

El Salvador teams
Metapán
Santa Tecla

Trinidad and Tobago teams
Central
W Connection

Location of teams of the 2015–16 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.

Clubs may be disqualified and replaced by a club from another association if the club does not have an available stadium that meets CONCACAF regulations for safety. If a club's own stadium fails to meet the set standards then it may find a suitable replacement stadium within its own country. However, if it is still determined that the club cannot provide the adequate facilities then it runs the risk of being replaced.

North America

Nine teams from the North American Football Union (NAFU) qualify to the Champions League. The allocation to the three NAFU member associations is 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 earn berths in Pot 3 of the tournament's group stage. If a team reaches both tournament finals, the vacated berth is reallocated through regular season record.

For the United States, three berths are allocated through the Major League Soccer (MLS) regular season and playoffs; the fourth berth is allocated to the winner of its domestic cup competition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. If U.S.-based, the MLS Cup winner, the Supporters' Shield winner, the other regular season conference winner and the U.S. Open Cup winner are placed in Pot 3. If a team qualifies through multiple berths, or if any of the MLS berths are taken by a Canada-based MLS team, the berth is reallocated to the best U.S.-based team in the Supporters' Shield table which has failed to otherwise qualify.

Because Canada hosted the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the 2015 Canadian Championship, typically played April–May, was extended, with the finals in August. Because a winner therefore would not be determined before the start of the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League, for this season only, the lone Canadian berth into the tournament (in Pot 1) was given to the best Canadian team in the MLS regular season. The champions of the 2015 Canadian Championship would instead qualify for the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League, and the Canadian Championship schedule in future years will finish in June or July, after the CONCACAF Champions League draw each year, so future winners of the Voyageurs Cup (the Canadian Championship trophy) will earn entry into the Champions League for the following calendar year instead of the same calendar year as in previous tournaments.^[5]

Central America

Twelve teams from the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) qualify to the Champions League. The allocation to the seven UNCAF member associations is 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 Panama are placed in Pot 2 and the teams from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Belize are placed in Pot 1.

All of these leagues employ the split season with two tournaments in one year, so both tournament champions qualify if there are two available berths (if the same team wins both tournaments, the runner-up with the better aggregate record also qualifies), or the champion with the better aggregate record qualifies if there is only one available berth.

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

Caribbean

Three teams from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) qualify to the Champions League. The three berths, in Pot 1, are 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 need to finish as the champion or runner-up of their respective association's league in the previous season, but professional teams may also be selected by their associations if they play in the league of another country.

If any Caribbean club is precluded, it is 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	América	3	2014 Apertura champions	3rd	2014–15	Champions (2014–15)
	UANL		2014 Apertura runners-up	2nd	2012–13	Quarterfinals (2012–13)
	Santos Laguna		2015 Clausura champions	5th	2012–13	Runners-up (2 times)
	Querétaro		2015 Clausura runners-up	1st	N/A	N/A
United States 4 berths	LA Galaxy		2014 MLS Cup champions	5th	2013–14	Semifinals (2012–13)
	Seattle Sounders FC		2014 MLS Supporters' Shield champions and 2014 U.S. Open Cup champions	4th	2012–13	Semifinals (2012–13)
	D.C. United		2014 MLS Eastern Conference regular season champions	4th	2014–15	Quarterfinals (2014–15)
	Real Salt Lake		2014 MLS Supporters' Shield fourth place[Note USA]	3rd	2012–13	Runners-up (2010–11)
Canada 1 berth	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	1	2014 MLS regular season best Canadian team[Note CAN]	1st	N/A	N/A
Central America (12 teams)
Costa Rica 2 berths	Saprissa	2	2014 Invierno champions	5th	2014–15	Semifinals (2010–11)
	Herediano		2015 Verano champions	6th	2014–15	Semifinals (2014–15)
Honduras 2 berths	Motagua		2014 Apertura champions	3rd	2011–12	Group stage (2011–12)
	Olimpia		2015 Clausura champions	8th	2014–15	Quarterfinals (2 times)
Guatemala 2 berths	Comunicaciones		2014 Apertura champions and 2015 Clausura champions	5th	2014–15	Quarterfinals (2009–10)
	Municipal		2014 Apertura and 2015 Clausura runners-up	6th	2014–15	Group stage (4 times)
Panama 2 berths	San Francisco		2014 Apertura champions	5th	2011–12	Group stage (2008–09)
	Árabe Unido		2015 Clausura champions	4th	2013–14	Quarterfinals (2 times)
El Salvador 2 berths	Isidro Metapán	1	2014 Apertura champions	8th	2014–15	Quarterfinals (2011–12)
	Santa Tecla		2015 Clausura champions	1st	N/A	N/A
Nicaragua 1 berth	Walter Ferretti		Champions with better aggregate record in 2014–15 season	1st	N/A	N/A
Belize 1 berth	Verdes		Champions with better aggregate record in 2014–15 season	2nd	2008–09	Preliminary round (2008–09)
Caribbean (3 teams)
Trinidad and Tobago 2 teams	Central	1	2015 CFU Club Championship champions	1st	N/A	N/A
	W Connection		2015 CFU Club Championship runners-up	4th	2013–14	Group stage (3 times)
Jamaica 1 team	Montego Bay United		2015 CFU Club Championship third place	1st	N/A	N/A

Notes

1. ^
   Canada (CAN): Starting from 2015, the Canadian Championship will be played in the timeframe of June and July instead of April and May. As a result, the 2015 Canadian Championship will not be played in time to designate the Canadian representative for the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League. As such, it has been agreed with all participating clubs, and approved by CONCACAF, that the 2014 MLS regular season best Canadian team would be appointed the Canadian representative for the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League. This setup is for one season only, and starting from the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League, the winner of the previous season's Canadian Championship will be the Canadian representative for the CONCACAF Champions League (e.g., the winner of the 2015 Canadian Championship will qualify for the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League).^[5]
2. ^
   United States (USA): The berth earned by Seattle Sounders FC for winning the U.S. Open Cup was passed to Real Salt Lake, the best U.S. team in the Supporters' Shield table not already qualified for the Champions League.^[6]

Draw

The draw for the tournament was held on June 1, 2015, 20:00 EDT (UTC−4), at the New World Center in Miami Beach, Florida.^[7] The 24 teams were drawn into eight groups of three, with each group containing one team from each of the three pots.^[8]

For the draw, the 24 teams were seeded into three pots. Teams from the same association (excluding "wildcard" teams which replace a team from another association) were placed in the same pot such that they could not be drawn into the same group:^[9]

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

The seeding was changed from previous seasons where teams from the same association were placed in different pots.

Pot 1
Isidro Metapán	Santa Tecla	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Walter Ferretti
Verdes	Central	W Connection	Montego Bay United
Pot 2
Saprissa	Herediano	Olimpia	Motagua
Comunicaciones	Municipal	Árabe Unido	San Francisco
Pot 3
América	Santos Laguna	UANL	Querétaro
LA Galaxy	Seattle Sounders FC	D.C. United	Real Salt Lake

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows.

Stage	Round	First leg	Second leg
Group stage	Matchday 1	August 4–6, 2015
	Matchday 2	August 18–20, 2015
	Matchday 3	August 25–27, 2015
	Matchday 4	September 15–17, 2015
	Matchday 5	September 22–24, 2015
	Matchday 6	October 20–22, 2015
Knockout stage	Quarterfinals	February 23–24, 2016	March 1–2, 2016
	Semifinals	March 15–16, 2016	April 5, 2016
	Final	April 20, 2016	April 27, 2016

Group stage

Main article: 2015–16 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 quarterfinals.

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. C. Tie-Breaker Procedures):[3] Greater number of points earned in matches between the teams concerned; Greater goal difference in matches between the teams concerned; Greater number of goals scored away from home in matches between the teams concerned; Greater goal difference in all group matches; Greater number of goals scored in group matches; Greater number of goals scored away in all group matches; Drawing of lots.

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SAN	SAP	WCO
1	Santos Laguna	4	3	0	1	12	3	+9	9	Knockout stage		—	6–1	4–0
2	Saprissa	4	2	0	2	8	9	−1	6			2–1	—	4–0
3	W Connection	4	1	0	3	2	10	−8	3			0–1	2–1	—

Source: CONCACAF

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		UAN	HER	MET
1	UANL	4	2	2	0	5	3	+2	8	Knockout stage		—	0–0	2–1
2	Herediano	4	1	2	1	4	3	+1	5			1–1	—	3–0
3	Isidro Metapán	4	1	0	3	4	7	−3	3			1–2	2–0	—

Source: CONCACAF

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		QUE	SFO	VER
1	Querétaro	4	2	1	1	11	2	+9	7	Knockout stage		—	2–0	8–0
2	San Francisco	4	2	0	2	11	5	+6	6			2–1	—	8–0
3	Verdes	4	1	1	2	2	17	−15	4			0–0	2–1	—

Source: CONCACAF

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		LAX	CEN	COM
1	LA Galaxy	4	2	2	0	12	3	+9	8	Knockout stage		—	5–1	5–0
2	Central	4	1	1	2	3	7	−4	4			1–1	—	1–0
3	Comunicaciones	4	1	1	2	2	7	−5	4			1–1	1–0	—

Source: CONCACAF

Group E

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		AMÉ	MOT	WAL
1	América	4	3	1	0	9	2	+7	10	Knockout stage		—	4–0	1–0
2	Motagua	4	2	1	1	5	6	−1	7			1–1	—	2–0
3	Walter Ferretti	4	0	0	4	2	8	−6	0			1–3	1–2	—

Source: CONCACAF

Group F

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SEA	OLI	VAN
1	Seattle Sounders FC	4	2	1	1	6	3	+3	7	Knockout stage		—	2–1	3–0
2	Olimpia	4	2	0	2	3	3	0	6			1–0	—	1–0
3	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	4	1	1	2	2	5	−3	4			1–1	1–0	—

Source: CONCACAF

Group G

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		RSL	MUN	TEC
1	Real Salt Lake	4	3	1	0	4	1	+3	10	Knockout stage		—	1–0	2–1
2	Municipal	4	1	1	2	3	4	−1	4			0–1	—	2–1
3	Santa Tecla	4	0	2	2	3	5	−2	2			0–0	1–1	—

Source: CONCACAF

Group H

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		DCU	ÁRA	MBU
1	D.C. United	4	3	1	0	9	3	+6	10	Knockout stage		—	2–0	3–0
2	Árabe Unido	4	2	0	2	5	4	+1	6			0–1	—	3–0
3	Montego Bay United	4	0	1	3	4	11	−7	1			3–3	1–2	—

Source: CONCACAF

Knockout stage

Main article: 2015–16 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 would be used if the aggregate score was level after normal time of the second leg, but not after extra time, and so a tie would be decided by penalty shoot-out if the aggregate score was level after extra time of the second leg (Regulations, II. C. Tie-Breaker Procedures).^[3]

Starting from this season, the higher-seeded team in each tie would host the second leg throughout the knockout stage.

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	E	América	4	3	1	0	9	2	+7	10
2	H	D.C. United	4	3	1	0	9	3	+6	10
3	G	Real Salt Lake	4	3	1	0	4	1	+3	10
4	A	Santos Laguna	4	3	0	1	12	3	+9	9
5	D	LA Galaxy	4	2	2	0	12	3	+9	8
6	B	UANL	4	2	2	0	5	3	+2	8
7	C	Querétaro	4	2	1	1	11	2	+9	7
8	F	Seattle Sounders FC	4	2	1	1	6	3	+3	7

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. C. Tie-Breaker Procedures).^[3]

Bracket

	Quarter-finals							Semi-finals							Final
	7	Querétaro	2	1	3
	2	D.C. United	0	1	1
								7	Querétaro	0	0	0
								6	UANL	0	2	2
	6	UANL	2	1	3
	3	Real Salt Lake	0	1	1
															6	UANL	0	1	1
															1	América	2	2	4
	5	LA Galaxy	0	0	0
	4	Santos Laguna	0	4	4
								4	Santos Laguna	0	0	0
								1	América (a.e.t.)	0	1	1
	8	Seattle Sounders FC	2	1	3
	1	América	2	3	5

Quarterfinals

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Seattle Sounders FC	3–5	América	2–2	1–3
Querétaro	3–1	D.C. United	2–0	1–1
UANL	3–1	Real Salt Lake	2–0	1–1
LA Galaxy	0–4	Santos Laguna	0–0	0–4

Semifinals

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Santos Laguna	0–1	América	0–0	0–1 (a.e.t.)
Querétaro	0–2	UANL	0–0	0–2

Final

Main article: 2016 CONCACAF Champions League final

UANL	0–2	América
	Report	Benedetto 49' Martínez 90+3'

20 April 2016 (2016-04-20)

20:45 UTC−5

Estadio Universitario, San Nicolás de los Garza

Attendance: 39,293^[10]

Referee: Roberto García (Mexico)

América	2–1	UANL
Arroyo 68' Martínez 87' (pen.)	Report	Gignac 39'

27 April 2016 (2016-04-27)

20:45 UTC−5

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Attendance: 50,638^[11]

Referee: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico)

América won 4–1 on aggregate.

CONCACAF Champions League 2015–16 champion
América Seventh title

Top goalscorers

Querétaro's Emanuel Villa became the first player to score five goals in a CONCACAF Champions League match, during his team's home match against Verdes on September 17, 2015.^[12]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Emanuel Villa	Querétaro	6
2	Michael Arroyo	América	5
	Alan Gordon	LA Galaxy
4	Djaniny	Santos Laguna	4
	André-Pierre Gignac	Tigres UANL
	Darwin Quintero	América
7	Lamar Neagle	Seattle Sounders FC	3
	Oribe Peralta	América
	Johnny Ruiz	San Francisco

Source: CONCACAF.com^[13]

Awards

Emanuel Villa being presented with the Golden Boot.

Award[14]	Player	Team
Golden Ball	Rubens Sambueza	América
Golden Boot	Emanuel Villa	Querétaro
Golden Glove	Hugo González	América
Best Young Player	Alberth Elis	Olimpia
Fair Play Award	—	Querétaro

See also

• 2016 FIFA Club World Cup

References

1. "Scotiabank Joins CONCACAF as Official Partner". CONCACAF.com. December 9, 2014.
2. "Official Logo Unveiled for Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League". CONCACAF.com. February 10, 2015.
3. "Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League 2015–16 Regulations" (PDF). CONCACAF.com.
4. "America crowned continental kings again". FIFA.com. 28 April 2016. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016.
5. "Changes for future Amway Canadian Championships". CONCACAF.com. March 21, 2014. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014.
6. "Real Salt Lake savors CCL qualification". CONCACAF.com. December 8, 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-02-04. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
7. "SCCL draw slated for Monday". CONCACAF.com. May 29, 2015. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
8. "Draw Produces Intriguing Matches for 2015/16 SCCL Group Stage". CONCACAF.com. June 1, 2015. Archived from the original on June 2, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
9. "Official Draw: Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League 2015/16". CONCACAF.com. June 1, 2015. Archived from the original on June 3, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
10. "About". CONCACAF. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
11. "About". CONCACAF. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
12. "Queretaro's Villa makes history on five-goal night". CONCACAF.com. September 18, 2015. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
13. "CONCACAF Champions League – Statistics". CONCACAF.com. Archived from the original on 2018-01-21. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
14. "Individual Awards Winners Announced for Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League 2015/16". CONCACAF.com. April 28, 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-05-01. Retrieved 2016-04-28.

External links

• CONCACAF Champions League Archived 2015-12-12 at the Wayback Machine, CONCACAF.com