The 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League group stage was played from August 2 to October 20, 2016.[1] A total of 24 teams competed in the group stage to decide the eight places in the knockout stage of the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League.[2]
The 24 teams were drawn into eight groups of three, with each group containing one team from each of the three pots. Teams from the same association (excluding "wildcard" teams which replace a team from another association) could not be drawn with each other in the group stage, and teams from Mexico and the United States had to be drawn into separate groups.[2]
The allocation of teams to each pot was based on the results of the last four editions of the competition under the current format:[3]
Pot 1 contained the second team from Panama, two teams from El Salvador, one team each from Nicaragua and Belize, and three teams from the Caribbean.
Pot 2 contained two teams each from Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala, the first team from Panama, and one team from Canada.
Pot 3 contained four teams each from Mexico and the United States.
In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners of each group advanced to the quarterfinals of the knockout stage.
Tiebreakers
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order (Regulations, II. D. Tie-Breaker Procedures):[2]
