The 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League is the 4th edition of the CONCACAFChampions League under its current format, and overall the 47th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament began on July 26, 2011 and finished with the second leg of the final April 25, 2012. Defending champions Monterrey won the title, and qualified as the CONCACAF representative at the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup.
Qualification
Twenty-four teams participate in the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League from the North American, Central American, and Caribbean zones. Nine of the teams come from North America, twelve from Central America, and three from the Caribbean. Teams may be disqualified and replaced by a team from a different country if the club doesn't 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
A total of nine clubs from the North American Football Union participate in the Champions League. Mexico and the United States are allocated four spots, the most of any CONCACAF nation, while Canada is granted one spot in the tournament. In Mexico, the winners of the Mexican Primera DivisiónApertura and Clausura tournaments earn direct berths into Group Stage of the Champions League, while the tournament runners-up earn berths into the Preliminary Round. For the United States, three of its four spots are allocated through the Major League Soccer regular season and playoffs, while the fourth spot is allocated to whoever wins the domestic cup competition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The U.S. Open Cup winner, along with the MLS Cup runner-up earn berths into the Preliminary Round of the tournament. The winner of the Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup are given byes into Group Stage. The winner of Canada's domestic cup competition, the Canadian Championship, earns the lone Canadian berth into the tournament, entering in the Preliminary Round.
Central America
Twelve clubs from the Central American Football Union qualify to the Champions League. If one or more clubs is precluded, it is supplanted by a club from another Central American federation. The reallocation would be based on results from previous Champions League tournaments. For the Central American representatives that qualify via split seasons, in nations that play a playoff to determine a national champion, the winner gains the nation's top spot. In nations that don't utilize such methods, total points over both seasons, followed by other tiebreakers, determine which team gains the nation's top spot. The top teams from the leagues of Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala and Panama enter the Group Stage, while their second teams enter the Preliminary Round. The two teams from the league of El Salvador and the sole representatives from the leagues of Nicaragua and Belize enter the Preliminary Round.
Caribbean
Three berths in the Champions League's Preliminary Round are allocated to the top three finishers of the CFU Club Championship, a subcontinental tournament for clubs from nations of the Caribbean Football Union. In order for a Caribbean club to qualify for the CFU Club Championship, they would need to finish as the champion in their respective nation's top league in the previous season. If any Caribbean club is precluded, it is supplanted by the fourth-place finisher from the CFU Club Championship.
Teams
Teams in bold qualified directly for the Group Stage.
Number of appearances and last appearance count only those in the Champions League era starting from 2008–09.
1 Berth originally awarded to Belize but Belize failed CONCACAF stadium requirements, so the spot vacated was awarded to Honduras based on performance from last season.
Format
Like the previous editions, the tournament is divided into three phases:
In the Preliminary Round, 16 teams are drawn into eight two-legged home-and-away ties, with each tie containing one team from Pot A and one team from Pot B. The eight winners qualify for the Group Stage to join the eight teams which directly enter the Group Stage.
In the Group Stage, 16 teams are drawn into four groups of four playing in a round-robin home-and-away format, with each group containing two direct entries and two Preliminary Round winners. The top two teams from each group advance to the Quarterfinals of the Championship Round.
In the Championship Round, the eight teams play in a knockout tournament, with each tie played in two-legged home-and-away format.
Teams from the same association may not be drawn with each other in the Preliminary Round and Group Stage, but may be drawn with each other in the Championship Round, where the only restriction is that in the quarterfinals, a group winner has to be drawn with the runner-up of another group and also host the second leg. For the two-legged ties of the Preliminary Round and Championship Round, the away goals rule is used, but not after a tie enters extra time, and so a tie is decided by penalty shootout if the aggregate score is level after extra time.
Schedule
Preliminary round
The draw for the Preliminary Round and the Group Stage was held on May 18, 2011. The first legs of the Preliminary Round were played July 26–28, 2011, while the second legs were played August 2–4, 2011.
Group stage
The Group Stage were played in 6 matchdays during August–October 2011: August 16–18, August 23–25, September 13–15, September 20–22, September 27–29, and October 18–20. The top two teams of each group advanced to the Championship Round.
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Championship Round
Bracket
The draw for the Championship Round was held on November 8, 2011. In the quarterfinals, the group winners were assured of playing the second leg at home, and were drawn against the group runners-up, with the only restriction being that they could not face the same team that they played in the Group Stage.
Quarterfinals
The first legs of the Quarterfinals were played March 6–8, 2012, and the second legs were played March 13–15, 2012.
Semifinals
The first legs of the Semifinals were played March 28, 2012, and the second legs were played April 4, 2012.
Finals
The first leg of the Finals was played April 18, 2012, and the second leg was played April 25, 2012.
Top goalscorers
Source:
Awards
For the first time, CONCACAF awarded a Golden Boot trophy to the top scorer and a Golden Ball trophy to the player of the tournament. Humberto Suazo won the Golden Boot over Oribe Peralta by the tie-breaker of scoring more goals over the two-leg final. Oribe Peralta won the Golden Ball, determined by a combination of fan and media votes.
