2019 CONCACAF Champions League
The 2019 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2019 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League) was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 54th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Monterrey defeated UANL 2–1 on aggregate in the final to win their fourth title. As the winners of the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League, they qualified for the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar. Guadalajara were the title holders, but did not qualify for this tournament and were unable to defend their title. Qualification A total of 16 teams participated in the CONCACAF Champions League: North American Zone: 9 teams (from three associations) Central American Zone: 5 teams (from five associations) Caribbean Zone: 1 team (from one association) Winners of the CONCACAF League (from one association, from either Central American Zone or Caribbean Zone) Therefore, teams from either 9 or 10 out of the 41 CONCACAF member associations could participate in the CONCACAF Champions League. North America The nine berths for the North American Football Union (NAFU) were allocated to the three NAFU member associations as follows: four berths each for Mexico and the United States, and one berth for Canada. For Mexico, the champions and runners-up of the Liga MX Apertura and Clausura Liguilla (playoff) tournaments qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. If there was any team which were finalists of both tournaments, the vacated berth was reallocated using a formula, based on regular season records, that ensured that two teams qualified via each tournament. For the United States, because of the restructuring of the CONCACAF Champions League starting from 2018, two teams each from the 2017 and 2018 seasons qualified for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League: The champions of the MLS Cup, the championship match of the MLS Cup Playoffs, in 2017 and 2018 The champions of the U.S. Open Cup, its domestic cup competition, in 2017 and 2018 This meant that the Supporters' Shield champions in 2017 and 2018, and the Eastern Conference or Western Conference regular season champions which were not Supporters' Shield champions in 2017 and 2018, which would have qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League in the usual setup, were not guaranteed a berth in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League. If there was any team which qualified through multiple berths, or if there was any Canada-based MLS team which were champions of the 2017 or 2018 MLS Cup, the vacated berth was reallocated to the U.S.-based team with the best aggregate record over the 2017 and 2018 MLS regular seasons. For Canada, the champions of the Canadian Championship, its domestic cup competition which awards the Voyageurs Cup, qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. While some Canada-based teams competed in MLS, they could not qualify through either the MLS regular season or playoffs. Central America The five berths for the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) were allocated to five of the seven UNCAF member