About The CCL

WHAT IS THE CCL?

 Beginning each July, CONCACAF - the governing body of soccer in North America, Central America and the Carribbean, and one of six continental soccer confederations - holds its annual CONCACAF Champions League in which 24 teams vie for a lofty distinction: a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.

HOW DOES THE CCL WORK?

 The CONCACAF Champions League is played in three stages: the Preliminary Round, Group Stage and Championship Round. The berths for the 24 teams are allocated by country or, in the case of the Carribbean, by region. FC Dallas qualified for the Preliminary Round by virtue of the club's first-ever MLS Cup appearance.

The 16 Preliminary Round teams face off in two-leg playoffs. The pairings are determined by draw, which also divides the teams for the Group Stage. No two teams from the same country may play each other in the Preliminary Round or Group Stage. FC Dallas faced Salvadoran side Alianza FC in the Preliminary Round, winning on an aggregate score of 2-0 to advance to the Group Stage.

FC Dallas is drawn into Group C along with Pumas UNAM (Mexico), Tauro FC (Panama) and Toronto FC (Canada).

Two teams from each four-team group advance to the quarterfinals, with each group winner drawn to face a runner-up from one of the other groups. The draw, which establishes he quarterfinal pairings, also determines the potential semifinal matches.

Group C Opponents

 Pumas UNAM was founded in 1954 and competes in Mexico’s Primera División at Estadio Olimpico Universitario in Mexico City. The club has made two previous CONCACAF Champions League Appearances (2008-09 and 2009-10). Pumas has won the Primera División seven times, most recently in 2011, and won the CONCACAF Champions‚ CCL’s former incarnation, in 1980, 1982 and 1989. As the 2011 Mexican Clausura champion, Pumas qualified automatically for the Group Stage.
Leg One: PUM 0, FCD 1 (Mexico City) | Leg Two: FCD 0, PUM 2 (Pizza Hut Park)

Founded in 1984, Tauro FC competes in the top league of Panama, Liga Panameña de Fútbol, and is the most-titled club of the league, winning eight since 1989. The club has made two previous CCL appearances (2008-09 and 2010-11). Tauro lost to Honduran club CD Marathón in the Preliminary Round in last year’s CCL. The club qualified automatically for the Group Stage by winning the 2010 Panamanian Apertura.
Leg One: FCD 1, TAU 1 (Pizza Hut Park) | Leg Two: TAU 5, FCD 3 (Panama City)

Toronto FC was founded in 2006 and joined MLS in 2007. The club is making its third CCL appearance, having competed in the tournament each year since 2009 as Canadian Champions. Toronto gained a berth in the 2011 CCL by winning its third Nutrilite Canadian Championship, defeating Vancouver Whitecaps FC 3-2 on aggregate. TFC clinched a spot in the Group Stage by defeating Nicaragua’s Real Estelí 4-2 on aggregate in the Preliminary Round.
Leg One: TFC 0, FCD 1 (Toronto) | Leg Two: Tues., Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. (Pizza Hut Park) BUY NOW