2018 Caribbean Club Championship

The 2018 Caribbean Club Championship was the 20th edition of the Caribbean Club Championship (also known as the CFU Club Championship), the first-tier annual international club football competition in the Caribbean region, held amongst clubs whose football associations are affiliated with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), a sub-confederation of CONCACAF.

2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship
2018 Flow CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship
Tournament details
Host countriesGroup stage:
Trinidad and Tobago (Group A)
Dominican Republic (Group B)
Final stage:
Jamaica
DatesGroup stage:
31 January – 11 February 2018
Final stage:
11–16 May 2018
Teams8 (from 4 associations)
Final positions
Champions Atlético Pantoja (1st title)
Runners-up Arnett Gardens
Third place Portmore United
Fourth place Central
Tournament statistics
Matches played17
Goals scored43 (2.53 per match)
Top scorer(s) Luis José Espinal (5 goals)
Best player(s) Miguel Odalis Báez
Best goalkeeper Miguel Odalis Báez
Fair play award Central

The winners of the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship would qualify to the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League, the second and third place teams would qualify to the 2018 CONCACAF League, while the fourth place team would play against the winners of the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, as long as the Shield winners fulfill the CONCACAF Regional Club Licensing criteria, in a playoff match to determine the final Caribbean spot to the 2018 CONCACAF League.[1]

Cibao were the title holders, but were not eligible to enter since they failed to reach the final of the 2017 Liga Dominicana de Fútbol. For the second season in a row, the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship was won by a team from the Dominican Republic, with Atlético Pantoja crowned champions and qualifying for the CONCACAF Champions League. Runners-up Arnett Gardens and third place Portmore United qualified for the CONCACAF League, but fourth-placed Central lost to Shield winners Club Franciscain in a playoff and failed to qualify for the CONCACAF League.

Teams
Location of teams of the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship

The CONCACAF Council, at its meeting on 25 July 2017 in San Francisco, California approved the implementation of the following two-tier competitions for affiliated clubs of Caribbean Member Associations starting in 2018:

  • The Tier 1 competition, known as the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship, is contested by the champions and runners-up of the top professional and semi-professional leagues in year 1 (2018), and open to only fully professional leagues in year 2 (2019) and onwards.
  • The Tier 2 competition, known as the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, is contested by the champions of the top leagues in Member Associations that have no professional or semi-professional leagues in year 1 (2018), and open to amateur and semi-professional leagues in year 2 (2019) and onwards.

The new two-tier format of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship and CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, as well as the teams participating in each tournament, were announced by CONCACAF on 15 December 2017.[2] Among the 31 CFU member associations, four of them were classified as professional leagues and each may enter two teams in the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship.

A total of eight teams from four associations entered the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship (officially the 2018 Flow CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship for sponsorship reasons).[3]

Association Team Qualification method
 Dominican Republic Atlántico 2017 Liga Dominicana de Fútbol champions
Atlético Pantoja 2017 Liga Dominicana de Fútbol runners-up
 Haiti Real Hope 2017 Ligue Haïtienne Série d'Ouverture champions
Racing 2017 Ligue Haïtienne Série d'Ouverture runners-up
 Jamaica Arnett Gardens 2016–17 National Premier League champions
Portmore United 2016–17 National Premier League runners-up
 Trinidad and Tobago Central 2016–17 TT Pro League champions
W Connection 2016–17 TT Pro League runners-up

Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 21 December 2017, 11:00 EST (UTC−5), at the CONCACAF Headquarters in Miami, United States,[4] and was streamed on YouTube.[5] The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four. The two group stage hosts were placed in Pot 1, while the remaining six teams were placed in Pot 2. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.

Pot 1 (hosts) Pot 2

The matches were played between 31 January – 4 February 2018 (Group A) and 7–11 February 2018 (Group B).[6] The top two teams of each group advanced to the final stage.

Group A

Host venue: Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, Trinidad and Tobago. All times local, AST (UTC−4).

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Atlético Pantoja 3 2 1 0 6 0 +6 7 Final stage
2 Arnett Gardens 3 1 1 1 5 2 +3 4
3 W Connection (H) 3 1 0 2 2 5 −3 3
4 Real Hope 3 1 0 2 1 7 −6 3
Source: CONCACAF
(H) Host.
Atlético Pantoja 0–0 Arnett Gardens
Report
Referee: Ricangel de Leça (Aruba)
W Connection 0–1 Real Hope
Report
  • Jeudy  3'
Referee: Oscar Macías (Mexico)
Real Hope 0–3 Atlético Pantoja
Report
  • Espinal  35', 59'
  • Maita  41'
Referee: Reon Radix (Grenada)
W Connection 2–1 Arnett Gardens
 Report
Referee: Gladwyn Johnson (Guyana)
Arnett Gardens 4–0 Real Hope
 Report
Referee: Oscar Macías (Mexico)
W Connection 0–3 Atlético Pantoja
Report
  • Espinal  27'
  • Maita  31'
  • López  65' (pen.)
Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón (Costa Rica)

Group B

Host venue: Estadio Cibao FC, Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. All times local, AST (UTC−4).

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Central 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6 Final stage
2 Portmore United 3 1 1 1 4 3 +1 4
3 Atlántico (H) 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
4 Racing 3 1 0 2 2 5 −3 3
Source: CONCACAF
(H) Host.
Central 0–2 Portmore United
Report
Referee: Marco Antonio Ortiz (Mexico)
Atlántico 2–1 Racing
 Report
  • Charles  27'
Referee: Oshane Nation (Jamaica)
Racing 0–3 Central
Report
Referee: Trevester Richards (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
Atlántico 2–2 Portmore United
  • Cuica  77', 87'
 Report
Referee: Ismael Cornejo (El Salvador)
Portmore United 0–1 Racing
Report
  • Daniel  27'
Referee: Sherwin Moore (Guyana)
Atlántico 0–1 Central
Report
Referee: Oshane Nation (Jamaica)

Final stage

Jamaica was announced as the host nation of the final stage on 1 May 2018.[7] The matches were played between 11–16 May 2018.

Bracket

The semi-final matchups are:

  • Group A Winners vs. Group B Runners-up
  • Group B Winners vs. Group A Runners-up
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
11 May
 
 
 Atlético Pantoja4
 
13 May
 
 Portmore United3
 
 Atlético Pantoja (p)0 (6)
 
11 May
 
 Arnett Gardens0 (5)
 
 Arnett Gardens2
 
 
 Central0
 
Third place
 
 
13 May
 
 
 Portmore United2
 
 
 Central1

Host venue: Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, Kingston, Jamaica. All times local, EST (UTC−5).

Semi-finals
Atlético Pantoja 4–3 Portmore United
  • Espinal  24', 45+1'
  • Centeno  30', 69'
 Report
  • East  27', 34'
  • Lynch  52'
Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, Kingston
Arnett Gardens 2–0 Central
 Report
Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, Kingston
Referee: Bryan López (Guatemala)

Third place match

Winners qualified for 2018 CONCACAF League. Losers advanced to CONCACAF League playoff against the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield winners for a place in the 2018 CONCACAF League.

Portmore United 2–1 Central
 Report
Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, Kingston
Referee: Kimbell Ward (Saint Kitts and Nevis)

Final

Winners qualified for 2019 CONCACAF Champions League. Losers qualified for 2018 CONCACAF League.

Atlético Pantoja 0–0 Arnett Gardens
Report
Penalties
 6–5
Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, Kingston

CONCACAF League playoff
Qualified teams from 2018 Caribbean club competitions
CONCACAF Champions League Atlético Pantoja
CONCACAF League Arnett Gardens
Portmore United
Club Franciscain

The CONCACAF League playoff was played between the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship fourth-placed team, Central, and the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield winners, Club Franciscain, with the winners qualifying for the 2018 CONCACAF League.

Central 1–2 Club Franciscain
 Report
Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, Kingston
Referee: Yadel Martínez (Cuba)

Top goalscorers
Rank Player Team Goals
1 Luis José Espinal Atlético Pantoja 5
2 Fabian Reid Arnett Gardens 4
3 Jovan East Portmore United 3
Jeremie Lynch Portmore United
5 Eduardo Centeno Atlético Pantoja 2
Herlyn Cuica Atlántico
Marcus Joseph W Connection
Armando Maita Atlético Pantoja

See also

References
  1. "CONCACAF Circular no. 555". CONCACAF. August 31, 2017.
  2. "CONCACAF Announces Expanded CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship for 2018". CONCACAF. 15 December 2017.
  3. "CONCACAF and FLOW ink mega multi-year deal". Sport Caraibe. 23 February 2018.
  4. "Groups and Schedule Set for January Kickoff for Expanded CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship". CONCACAF.com. 21 December 2017.
  5. "CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship 2018 – OFFICIAL DRAW". CONCACAF. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  6. "Schedule Confirmed for the First Round of the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship". CONCACAF.com. 12 January 2018.
  7. "Jamaica to Host Final Round of the 2018 Flow Concacaf Caribbean Club Championship". CONCACAF.com. 1 May 2018.
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