2017 CONCACAF League
The 2017 CONCACAF League was the inaugural edition of the CONCACAF League, a football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
The tournament was created as part of a new CONCACAF club competition platform consisting of two tournaments and a total of 31 teams competing during the season, with 16 teams competing in the CONCACAF League from August to October, and the winner of the CONCACAF League joining the 15 direct entrants competing in the CONCACAF Champions League from February to April. Details of the inaugural edition of the CONCACAF League was confirmed on 8 May 2017.
Olimpia defeated Santos de Guápiles in the final, and qualified for the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League.
Qualification
A total of 16 teams participate in the CONCACAF League:- Central American Zone: 13 teams
- Caribbean Zone: 3 teams
Central America
The 13 berths for the Central American Football Union 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, 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 qualify.
- In the league of Belize, the champions with the better aggregate record qualify.
Caribbean
The three berths for the Caribbean Football Union are allocated via the Caribbean Club Championship, a subcontinental tournament open to the clubs of all 31 CFU member associations. To qualify for the Caribbean Club Championship, teams have to finish as the champions or runners-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.The runners-up, third-placed and fourth-placed teams of the Caribbean Club Championship qualify for the CONCACAF League.
Teams
The following 16 teams qualified for the tournament.| Association | Team | Qualifying method |
 Costa Rica | Alajuelense | Non-champions with best aggregate record in 2016–17 season |
| Costa Rica | Santos de Guápiles | Non-champions with 2nd best aggregate record in 2016–17 season |
 Honduras | Honduras Progreso | Runners-up with better aggregate record in 2016–17 season |
| Honduras | Platense | Runners-up with worse aggregate record in 2016–17 season |
| Honduras | Olimpia | Semi-finalists with best aggregate record in 2016–17 season |
 Panama | Árabe Unido | Champions with worse aggregate record in 2016–17 season |
| Panama | Plaza Amador | 2016 Apertura runners-up |
| Panama | Chorrillo | Semi-finalists with best aggregate record in 2016–17 season |
 El Salvador | Alianza | 2016 Apertura and 2017 Clausura runners-up |
| El Salvador | Águila | Semi-finalists with best aggregate record in 2016–17 season |
 Nicaragua | Real Estelí | 2016 Apertura and 2017 Clausura champions |
| Nicaragua | Walter Ferretti | 2016 Apertura and 2017 Clausura runners-up |
 Belize | Belmopan Bandits | 2016 Opening and 2017 Closing champions |
;Notes
Draw
The draw for the 2017 CONCACAF League was held on 31 May 2017, 19:00 EDT, at the Hilton Miami Airport Hotel in Miami, and was streamed on YouTube.
The draw determined each tie in the round of 16 between a team from Pot 1 and a team from Pot 2, each containing eight teams. The "Bracket Position Pots" 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 16 teams were distributed in the pots as follows:
| Pot | Slot | Team |
| Pot 1 | Alajuelense | |
| Pot 1 | Árabe Unido | |
| Pot 1 | Plaza Amador | |
| Pot 1 | Honduras Progreso | |
| Pot 1 | Alianza | |
| Pot 1 | Real Estelí | |
| Pot 1 | Belmopan Bandits | |
| Pot 1 |  San Juan Jabloteh | |
| Pot 2 | Santos de Guápiles ' | |
| Pot 2 | Chorrillo ' | |
| Pot 2 | Platense | |
| Pot 2 | Olimpia | |
| Pot 2 | Águila | |
| Pot 2 | Walter Ferretti | |
| Pot 2 |  Portmore United | |
| Pot 2 | Central |
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. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still tied, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner.
Schedule
The schedule of the competition was as follows.| First leg | Second leg | |
| Round of 16 | 1–3 August 2017 | 8–10 August 2017 |
| Quarter-finals | 15–17 August 2017 | 22–24 August 2017 |
| Semi-finals | 13–14 September 2017 | 21 September 2017 |
| Finals | 19 October 2017 | 26 October 2017 |
All times were Eastern Daylight Time, i.e., .
Bracket
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 1–3 August, and the second legs were played on 8–10 August 2017.Matches
Santos de Guápiles won 8–3 on aggregate.----
Chorrillo won 2–0 on aggregate.
----
Árabe Unido won 5–1 on aggregate.
----
1–1 on aggregate. Águila won 4–3 on penalties.
----
Olimpia won 3–0 on aggregate.
----
Alianza won 4–2 on aggregate.
----
1–1 on aggregate. Plaza Amador won 5–4 on penalties.
----
Walter Ferretti won 5–1 on aggregate.
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
Summary
The first legs were played on 15–17 August, and the second legs were played on 22–24 August 2017.Matches
Santos de Guápiles won 2–0 on aggregate.----
Árabe Unido won 2–1 on aggregate.
----
Olimpia won 3–2 on aggregate.
----
Plaza Amador won 2–1 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
Summary
The first legs were played on 13–14 September, and the second legs were played on 21 September 2017.Matches
Santos de Guápiles won 1–0 on aggregate.----
Olimpia won 8–2 on aggregate.
Finals
In the finals, the finalists which had the better performance in previous rounds hosted the second leg.Summary
The first leg was played on 19 October, and the second leg was played on 26 October 2017.Matches
1–1 on aggregate. Olimpia won 4–1 on penalties.Top goalscorers
Awards
| Position | Player | Team |
| GK | Bryan Morales | Santos de Guápiles |
| DF | Youstin Salas | Santos de Guápiles |
| DF | Kevin Álvarez | Olimpia |
| DF | Juan Diego Madrigal | Santos de Guápiles |
| DF | Edder Monguio | Santos de Guápiles |
| MF | Alexander López | Olimpia |
| MF | Wílmer Azofeifa | Santos de Guápiles |
| MF | Michaell Chirinos | Olimpia |
| MF | Kenny Cunningham | Santos de Guápiles |
| FW | Roger Rojas | Olimpia |
| FW | Carlos Small | Árabe Unido |