# 2018 CONCACAF League

The 2018 CONCACAF League (officially the 2018 Scotiabank CONCACAF League for sponsorship purposes) was the second edition of the CONCACAF League, a football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Herediano defeated Motagua in the final to win their first CONCACAF League, and qualified for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League to join the 15 direct entrants. Olimpia were the title holders, but did not qualify for this tournament and were unable to defend their title, and consequently their streak of participating in all ten editions of the CONCACAF Champions League since 2008 ended.

## Qualification

A total of 16 teams participate in the CONCACAF League:
* Central American Zone: 13 teams (from six associations; ordinarily from seven associations, but Guatemalan teams were excluded from this season's tournament)
* Caribbean Zone: 3 teams (from two or three associations)
Therefore, teams from either 8 or 9 out of the 41 CONCACAF member associations may participate in the CONCACAF League.

### Central America

The 13 berths for the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) are allocated to the seven UNCAF member associations as follows: two berths for each of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, and Nicaragua, and one berth for Belize.
All of the leagues of Central America employ a split season with two tournaments in one season, so the following teams qualify for the CONCACAF League:
* In the league of Costa Rica, the champions with the worse aggregate record, and the non-champions with the best aggregate record, qualify. If there is any team which are champions of both tournaments, the non-champions with the second best aggregate record qualify.
* In the leagues of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama, the champions with the worse aggregate record, and the runners-up with the better aggregate record (or any team which are runners-up of both tournaments), qualify. If there is any team which are finalists of both tournaments, the runners-up with the worse aggregate record qualify. If there are any two teams which are finalists of both tournaments, the semi-finalists with the best aggregate record qualify.
* In the league of Nicaragua, both champions qualify. If there is any team which are champions of both tournaments, the runners-up with the better aggregate record (or any team which are runners-up of both tournaments) qualify.
* In the league of Belize, the champions with the better aggregate record (or any team which are champions of both tournaments) qualify.
If teams from any Central American associations are excluded, they are replaced by teams from other Central American associations, with the associations chosen based on results from previous CONCACAF League and CONCACAF Champions League tournaments. For this season, the two teams from Guatemala were excluded due to the suspension of their federation by FIFA and were replaced by an additional team each from Costa Rica and Panama.

### Caribbean

The three berths for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), which consists of 31 member associations, are allocated via the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship and CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, the first-tier and second-tier subcontinental Caribbean club tournaments. Since 2018, the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship is open to teams from professional leagues, and the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield is open to teams from non-professional leagues. To qualify for the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship, teams have to finish as the champions or runners-up of their respective association's league in the previous season, while to qualify for the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, teams have to finish as the champions of their respective association's league in the previous season.
The runners-up and third-placed team of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship, and the winners of a playoff between the fourth-placed team of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship and the champions of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, qualify for the CONCACAF League. For the champions of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield to be eligible for the playoff, they must comply with the minimum CONCACAF Club Licensing requirements for the CONCACAF League.

## Teams

The following 16 teams (from eight associations) qualified for the tournament.
Qualified teams from Central America (13 teams) :
| Association | Team | Qualifying method | App. (last) | Previous best (last) |
| Costa Rica (2 + 1 berths) | Pérez Zeledón | Champions with worse aggregate record in 2017–18 season (2017 Apertura) | 1st | Debut |
| Costa Rica (2 + 1 berths) | Herediano | Non-champions with best aggregate record in 2017–18 season | 1st | Debut |
| Costa Rica (2 + 1 berths) | Santos de Guápiles | Non-champions with 2nd best aggregate record in 2017–18 season | 2nd (2017) | Runners-up (2017) |
| Panama (2 + 1 berths) | Universitario | Champions with worse aggregate record in 2017–18 season (2017 Apertura) | 2nd (2017) | Quarter-finals (2017) |
| Panama (2 + 1 berths) | Árabe Unido | Runners-up with better aggregate record in 2017–18 season (2017 Apertura) | 2nd (2017) | Semi-finals (2017) |
| Panama (2 + 1 berths) | Tauro | Runners-up with worse aggregate record in 2017–18 season (2018 Clausura) | 1st | Debut |
| El Salvador (2 berths) | Santa Tecla | 2017 Apertura and 2018 Clausura runners-up | 1st | Debut |
| El Salvador (2 berths) | FAS | Semi-finalists with best aggregate record in 2017–18 season (2017 Apertura) | 1st | Debut |
| Honduras (2 berths) | Real España | Champions with worse aggregate record in 2017–18 season (2017 Apertura) | 1st | Debut |
| Honduras (2 berths) | Motagua | 2017 Apertura and 2018 Clausura runners-up | 1st | Debut |
| Nicaragua (2 berths) | Walter Ferretti | Champions with better aggregate record in 2017–18 season (2017 Apertura) | 2nd (2017) | Quarter-finals (2017) |
| Nicaragua (2 berths) | Diriangén | Champions with worse aggregate record in 2017–18 season (2018 Clausura) | 1st | Debut |
| Belize (1 berth) | Belmopan Bandits | Champions with better aggregate record in 2017–18 season (2018 Closing) | 2nd (2017) | Round of 16 (2017) |
Qualified teams from Caribbean (3 teams) :
| Association | Team | Qualifying method | App. (last) | Previous best (last) |
| Jamaica | Arnett Gardens | 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship runners-up | 1st | Debut |
| Jamaica | Portmore United | 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship third place | 2nd (2017) | Round of 16 (2017) |
| Martinique | Club Franciscain | 2018 Caribbean CONCACAF League playoff winners | 1st | Debut |

### Notes

* ^ Guatemala (GUA): On 28 October 2016, FIFA suspended the National Football Federation of Guatemala for political interference by the Government of Guatemala. Until the suspension is lifted, Guatemalan teams are not permitted to participate in international competitions. CONCACAF set the deadline of 31 March 2018 for the suspension to be lifted in order for Guatemalan teams to participate in the 2018 CONCACAF League, and confirmed on 18 May 2018 that Guatemalan teams were expelled after the federation failed to be reinstated by FIFA. The two Guatemalan teams which would have qualified for the CONCACAF League were: Guastatoya, champions with worse aggregate record in 2017–18 season (2018 Clausura champions) Xelajú MC, runners-up with better aggregate record in 2017–18 season (2018 Clausura runners-up) Antigua GFC, champions with better aggregate record in 2017–18 season (2017 Apertura champions), would have qualified directly to the Champions League. As a result, the two vacated berths were replaced by teams from Costa Rica (Santos de Guápiles) and Panama (Tauro), all entering the CONCACAF League as "wild card" teams, based on the performance of the Central American associations in the last five years, giving Costa Rica and Panama three berths each. Guatemala were ultimately reinstated by FIFA on 1 June 2018, and it was decided that the representative of Guatemala in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League would be decided by a two-legged playoff between Antigua GFC and Guastatoya.

## Draw

The draw for the 2018 CONCACAF League was held on 23 May 2018, 19:00 EDT (UTC−4), at the Pullman Hotel in Miami, Florida, United States.
The draw determined each tie in the round of 16 (numbered 1 through 8) between a team from Pot 1 and a team from Pot 2, each containing eight teams. The "Bracket Position Pots" (Pot A and Pot B) contained the bracket positions numbered 1 through 8 corresponding to each tie. The teams from Pot 1 were assigned a bracket position from Pot A and the teams from Pot 2 were assigned a bracket position from Pot B. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other in the round of 16 except for "wildcard" teams which replaced a team from another association.
The seeding of teams were based on the CONCACAF Club Index. Each team qualified for the CONCACAF League based on criteria set by the respective associations (e.g., tournament champions, runners-up, cup champions), resulting in an assigned slot (e.g., CRC2, CRC3) for each team. The CONCACAF Club Index, instead of ranking each team, was based on the on-field performance of the teams that have occupied the respective qualifying slots in the previous five editions of the CONCACAF League and CONCACAF Champions League. To determine the total points awarded to a slot in any single edition of the CONCACAF League or CONCACAF Champions League, CONCACAF used the following formula:
| Points per | Participation | Win | Draw | Stage advanced | Champions |
| CONCACAF Champions League (2013–14 – 2018) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| CONCACAF League (2017) | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 |
The 16 teams were distributed in the pots as follows:
| Pot | Rank | Slot | 2013–14 CCL | 2014–15 CCL | 2015–16 CCL | 2016–17 CCL | 2017 CL or 2018 CCL | Total | Team |
| Pot 1 | 1 | CRC2 | 10 | 18 | 9 | 14 | 5 | 56 | Pérez Zeledón |
| Pot 1 | 2 | PAN2 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 46 | Universitario |
| Pot 1 | 3 | SLV2 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 11.5 | 38.5 | Santa Tecla |
| Pot 1 | 4 | HON2 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 36 | Real España |
| Pot 1 | 5 | CCC2 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 28 | Arnett Gardens |
| Pot 1 | 6 | NCA1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 26 | Walter Ferretti |
| Pot 1 | 7 | CCC3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 22 | Portmore United |
| Pot 1 | 8 | BLZ1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 14 | Belmopan Bandits |
| Pot 2 | 9 | PAN3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 11 | Árabe Unido |
| Pot 2 | 10 | NCA2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.5 | 9.5 | Diriangén |
| Pot 2 | 11 | SLV3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | FAS |
| Pot 2 | 12 | HON3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | Motagua |
| Pot 2 | 13 | CRC3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | Herediano |
| Pot 2 | 14 | CCC4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | Club Franciscain |
| Pot 2 | 15 | CRC4 | Wildcard team, automatically placed in Pot 2 | Wildcard team, automatically placed in Pot 2 | Wildcard team, automatically placed in Pot 2 | Wildcard team, automatically placed in Pot 2 | Wildcard team, automatically placed in Pot 2 | Wildcard team, automatically placed in Pot 2 | Santos de Guápiles |
| Pot 2 | 16 | PAN4 | Wildcard team, automatically placed in Pot 2 | Wildcard team, automatically placed in Pot 2 | Wildcard team, automatically placed in Pot 2 | Wildcard team, automatically placed in Pot 2 | Wildcard team, automatically placed in Pot 2 | Wildcard team, automatically placed in Pot 2 | Tauro |

### Notes

* ^ $^{NCA}$ The identity of the teams qualifying for the two slots for Nicaragua (NCA1 and NCA2) was not known at the time of the draw.

## Format

In the CONCACAF League, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis.
* In the round of 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals, the away goals rule would be applied if the aggregate score was tied after the second leg. If still tied, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations II, Article F).
* In the final, the away goals rule would not be applied, and extra time would be played if the aggregate score was tied after the second leg. If the aggregate score was still tied after extra time, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations II, Article G).

## Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows.
| | First leg | Second leg |
| Round of 16 | 31 July – 2 August 2018 | 7–9 August 2018 |
| Quarter-finals | 21–23 August 2018 | 28–30 August 2018 |
| Semi-finals | 18–20 September 2018 | 25–27 September 2018 |
| Final | 23–25 October 2018 | 30 October – 1 November 2018 |
All times are Eastern Daylight Time, i.e., UTC−4, as listed by CONCACAF (local times are in parentheses).

## Bracket

| Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| Herediano (a) | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Santa Tecla | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Santa Tecla | 0 | 2 | 2 | Herediano | 3 | 2 | 5 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Universitario | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| Diriangén | 0 | 1 | 1 | Universitario | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| Universitario | 4 | 3 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Universitario | 4 | 3 | 7 | | | | | Herediano | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Árabe Unido | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | |
| FAS | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | | Árabe Unido | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | |
| Pérez Zeledón | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Pérez Zeledón | 1 | 1 | 2 | FAS | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Árabe Unido | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| Árabe Unido | 3 | 1 | 4 | Árabe Unido | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| Arnett Gardens | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Arnett Gardens | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | Herediano | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Motagua | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Tauro | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Motagua | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Real España | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Real España | 0 | 1 | 1 | Tauro | 3 | 4 | 7 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Walter Ferretti | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| Club Franciscain | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) | Walter Ferretti | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| Walter Ferretti (p) | 0 | 1 | 1 (4) | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Walter Ferretti (p) | 0 | 1 | 1 (4) | | | | | Tauro | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Motagua | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | |
| Motagua | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | | Motagua | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | |
| Belmopan Bandits | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Belmopan Bandits | 0 | 0 | 0 | Motagua | 3 | 2 | 5 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Portmore United | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| Santos de Guápiles | 1 | 2 | 3 (6) | Portmore United | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| Portmore United (p) | 2 | 1 | 3 (7) | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Round of 16

In the round of 16, the matchups were decided by draw: R16-1 through R16-8. The teams from Pot 1 in the draw hosted the second leg.

### Summary

The first legs were played on 31 July – 2 August, and the second legs were played on 7–9 August 2018.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Santos de Guápiles | 3–3 (6–7 p) | Portmore United | 1–2 | 2–1 |
| Motagua | 3–0 | Belmopan Bandits | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Club Franciscain | 1–1 (1–4 p) | Walter Ferretti | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Tauro | 2–1 | Real España | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Árabe Unido | 4–2 | Arnett Gardens | 3–0 | 1–2 |
| FAS | 3–2 | Pérez Zeledón | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Diriangén | 1–7 | Universitario | 0–4 | 1–3 |
| Herediano | 2–2 (a) | Santa Tecla | 1–0 | 1–2 |

### Matches

3–3 on aggregate. Portmore United won 7–6 on penalties.
Motagua won 3–0 on aggregate.
1–1 on aggregate. Walter Ferretti won 4–1 on penalties.
Tauro won 2–1 on aggregate.
Árabe Unido won 4–2 on aggregate.
FAS won 3–2 on aggregate.
Universitario won 7–1 on aggregate.
2–2 on aggregate. Herediano won on away goals.

## Quarter-finals

In the quarter-finals, the matchups were determined as follows:
* QF1: Winner R16-1 vs. Winner R16-2
* QF2: Winner R16-3 vs. Winner R16-4
* QF3: Winner R16-5 vs. Winner R16-6
* QF4: Winner R16-7 vs. Winner R16-8
The winners of round of 16 matchups 1, 3, 5, 7 hosted the second leg.

### Summary

The first legs were played on 21–23 August, and the second legs were played on 28–30 August 2018.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Motagua | 5–2 | Portmore United | 3–2 | 2–0 |
| Tauro | 7–1 | Walter Ferretti | 3–1 | 4–0 |
| FAS | 1–4 | Árabe Unido | 0–1 | 1–3 |
| Herediano | 5–1 | Universitario | 3–0 | 2–1 |

### Matches

Motagua won 5–2 on aggregate.
Tauro won 7–1 on aggregate.
Árabe Unido won 4–1 on aggregate.
Herediano won 5–1 on aggregate.

## Semi-finals

In the semi-finals, the matchups were determined as follows:
* SF1: Winner QF1 vs. Winner QF2
* SF2: Winner QF3 vs. Winner QF4
The semi-finalists in each tie which had the better performance in previous rounds hosted the second leg.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Host |
| 1 (SF1) | Motagua | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 12 | 2nd leg |
| 2 (SF1) | Tauro | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 10 | 1st leg |
| 1 (SF2) | Árabe Unido | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 9 | 2nd leg |
| 2 (SF2) | Herediano | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 9 | 1st leg |

### Summary

The first legs were played on 20 September, and the second legs were played on 27 September 2018.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Tauro | 2–3 | Motagua | 2–1 | 0–2 |
| Herediano | 2–1 | Árabe Unido | 2–0 | 0–1 |

### Matches

Motagua won 3–2 on aggregate.
Herediano won 2–1 on aggregate.

## Final

In the final (Winner SF1 vs. Winner SF2), the finalists which had the better performance in previous rounds hosted the second leg.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Host |
| 1 | Motagua | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 15 | 2nd leg |
| 2 | Herediano | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 12 | 1st leg |

### Summary

The first leg was played on 25 October, and the second leg was played on 1 November 2018.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Herediano | 3–2 | Motagua | 2–0 | 1–2 |

### Matches

Herediano won 3–2 on aggregate.

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Team | Goals | By round | By round | By round | By round | By round | By round | By round | By round |
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals | 1R1 | 1R2 | QF1 | QF2 | SF1 | SF2 | F1 | F2 |
| 1 | Edwin Aguilar | Tauro | 5 | 1 | | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | |
| 1 | Román Castillo | Motagua | 5 | | | 1 | 2 | | | | 2 |
| 1 | Yendrick Ruiz | Herediano | 5 | | 1 | 2 | | 2 | | | |
| 4 | Jimmy Marín | Herediano | 3 | | | 1 | | | | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Juan Pablo Montes | Motagua | 3 | | | 2 | | 1 | | | |
| 4 | S. Moreno | Universitario | 3 | 2 | 1 | | | | | | |
| 4 | Armando Polo | Tauro | 3 | | 1 | 1 | 1 | | | | |
| 4 | Óscar Villarreal | Universitario | 3 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Jovan East | Portmore United | 2 | 1 | | 1 | | | | | |
| 9 | Maalique Foster | Portmore United | 2 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Faber Gil | Árabe Unido | 2 | | | 1 | 1 | | | | |
| 9 | Chin Hormechea | Árabe Unido | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Kevin López | Motagua | 2 | 1 | | | | | 1 | | |
| 9 | Roberto Moreira | Motagua | 2 | | 1 | | | | 1 | | |
| 9 | Blas Pérez | Árabe Unido | 2 | | | | 2 | | | | |
Source:CONCACAF

## Awards

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:
| Award | Player | Team |
| Golden Ball | Yendrick Ruiz | Herediano |
| Golden Boot | Román Castillo | Motagua |
| Golden Glove | Leonel Moreira | Herediano |
| Best Young Player | Jimmy Marín | Herediano |
| Fair Play Award | — | Motagua |