The Caribbean Club Championship, also known as the CFU Club Championship or CFU Club Champions' Cup,[1] was an annual international football competition held amongst association football clubs that are members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU). The tournament served as a qualifying event for the CONCACAF Champions League and, from 2017, the CONCACAF League.
| Organizing body | CFU CONCACAF |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1997 |
| Abolished | 2022 |
| Region | Caribbean |
| Number of teams | Various |
| Last champion(s) |  Violette (1st title)(2022) |
| Most successful club(s) |  W Connection Joe Public Puerto Rico Islanders Portmore United Central Harbour View(2 titles each) |
| Website | CFU homepage |
In 2023, the tournament was replaced by the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup which follows a similar format. This change was made in conjunction with the expansion of the CONCACAF Champions League starting from the 2024 edition.[2]
Qualification
editThirty-one national associations affiliated with the CFU were invited to participate, with each eligible to send two clubs, usually their league champions and runners-up. However, many member nations did not send a representative team every year. CFU also allowed Antigua Barracuda, Puerto Rico Islanders, and Puerto Rico FC (all now defunct) to compete despite being members of the United States league system. This tournament currently sent three or four teams to CONCACAF competitions: the champions enter the CONCACAF Champions League, the runners-up and third place teams enter the CONCACAF League, and the fourth place team competed in a playoff with the CFU Club Shield winner for a spot in the CONCACAF League.
The CFU presented an exact replica of the championship trophy to the winning team for their permanent possession.
Participation of member associations
edit| Country | Competitions | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | 2000–02, 2006–07, 2009–22 | |
| 19 | 1997–98, 2000–04, 2006–07, 2009–18 | |
| 18 | 1997–98, 2000, 2002–07, 2013–20, 2022 | |
| 16 | 1997, 2000–01, 2003–05, 2007, 2009–12, 2014–17, 2021 | |
| 11 | 2000–01, 2003, 2005–07, 2009–10, 2012, 2014, 2021 | |
| 10 | 2000, 2004–07, 2009, 2012–13, 2015, 2017 | |
| 10 | 2006–07, 2009–14, 2017, 2021 | |
| 8 | 1997, 2001, 2009–12, 2014–15 | |
| 7 | 1997–98, 2014–17, 2021 | |
| 6 | 2002, 2011–12, 2014, 2016–17 | |
| 6 | 2016–18, 2020–22 | |
| 5 | 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009 | |
| 5 | 2000–02, 2005, 2011 | |
| 5 | 1997–98, 2010, 2017, 2021 | |
| 4 | 2005–07, 2009 | |
| 4 | 2010–12, 2016 | |
| 4 | 1997–98, 2002, 2021 | |
| 4 | 2005–07, 2015 | |
| 3 | 1997–98, 2000 | |
| 2 | 2004, 2017 | |
| 2 | 2017, 2021 | |
| 1 | 2015 | |
| 1 | 2021 | |
| 1 | 2007 | |
| 1 | 2021 | |
| 1 | 2004 | |
| 1 | 2011 |
The following associations have never had any team participate in a Club Championship:
Associations in italics have had teams participate in the Caribbean Club Shield
Past winners
edit- ^ a b c d e f The championship was decided by a final group round.
- ^ No champions were decided. The two group winners qualified for the 2002 CONCACAF Champions' Cup.
- ^ No champions were decided. The two group winners qualified for the 2003 CONCACAF Champions' Cup.
- ^ After the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) replaced the Champions' Cup in 2008, the two losing semi-finalists in the 2007 CFU Clubs Championships (CFU-CC) played a two-legged series on 10 and 25 May 2008 to determine the 2007 CFU-CC tournament's third place team and the final Caribbean spot (CFU#3) for the inaugural 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League.
- ^ No champions were decided. The two group winners and the play-off winners between the two group runners-up qualified for the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League.
- ^ No champions were decided. The final stage was cancelled after one of the participating teams Valencia could not participate, and CONCACAF decided to save expenses for the three group stage winners set to participate in the final stage as they all qualified for the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League.
- ^ No champions were decided. The final stage was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the results in the group stage were used to determine the teams which qualified for the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League (Atlético Pantoja) and the 2020 CONCACAF League (Waterhouse, Arcahaie, Cibao)[3]
- ^ No third place match was played.
Results
editBy club
edit| Team | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 5 | 2006, 2009 | 2000, 2003, 2012, 2015, 2016 | |
| 2 | 2 | 1998, 2000 | 2007, 2010 | |
| 2 | 1 | 2010, 2011 | 2009 | |
| 2 | 0 | 2005, 2019 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 2015, 2016 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 2004, 2007 | ||
| 1 | 2 | 2003 | 2006, 2017 | |
| 1 | 1 | 2012 | 1998 | |
| 1 | 1 | 2017 | 2022 | |
| 1 | 0 | 2021 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 2022 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 2018 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1997 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 2021 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 2019 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 2018 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 2011 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 2005 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 2004 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1997 |
- When sorted by years won or lost, the table is sorted by the date of each team's first placement
By country
edit| Nation | Winners | Runners-up | Winning clubs | Runner-up clubs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 10 | W Connection (2), Central (2), Joe Public (2), San Juan Jabloteh (1), United Petrotrin (1), Caledonia AIA (1) | W Connection (5), Joe Public (2), San Juan Jabloteh (2), Caledonia AIA (1) | |
| 4 | 4 | Portmore United (2), Harbour View (2) | Arnett Gardens (1), Waterhouse (1), Tivoli Gardens (1), Seba United (1) | |
| 2 | 1 | Puerto Rico Islanders (2) | Puerto Rico Islanders (1) | |
| 2 | 1 | Cibao (1), Atlético Pantoja (1) | Cibao (1) | |
| 2 | 1 | Cavaly (1), Violette (1) | Tempête (1) | |
| 0 | 2 | Robinhood (1), Inter Moengotapoe (1) |
CFU Club Shield
editA second-tier competition, called the CFU Club Shield, formerly known as the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, was introduced in 2018 for clubs from non-professional leagues that worked towards professional standards.[4] Until 2022, the winner of this competition, as long as it fulfills the CONCACAF Regional Club Licensing criteria, played against the fourth-placed team of the Caribbean Club Championship for a place in the CONCACAF League. Since 2023, the winner and runner-up qualify for the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup.
See also
editNotes and references
edit- ^ "CFU Club Champions' Cup 2011 Tournament Regulations" (PDF). 1 August 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2011.
- ^ mlssoccer. "Concacaf announces expanded Champions League starting in 2024 | MLSSoccer.com". MLSsoccer. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- ^ "Update on Concacaf Caribbean Club Shield and Flow Concacaf Caribbean Club Championship". CONCACAF. 25 August 2020. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
- ^ "Dominican Republic Selected to Host Inaugural CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield". mailchi.mp. CONCACAF. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2018.