2023 CONCACAF Champions League draw: how did Tigres qualify?
Tigres failed to reach the final of either the Apertura 2021 or Clausura 2022, but their regular-season record has earned them a place in the ‘CONCAChampions’.
The draw for the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League - the elite Central American, North American and Caribbean men’s club tournament - took place on Monday.
Mexico’s representatives in the competition are: Atlas, as winners of the Apertura 2021 and Clausura 2022 tournaments; León, as Apertura 2021 runners-up; Pachuca, as Clausura 2022 runners-up; and, despite failing to reach either final in the 2021/22 Liga MX season, Tigres.
So why were Tigres given a Champions League spot?
According to Liga MX rules, the country’s CONCACAF Champions League teams are the winners and finalists of the Apertura (’opening’) and Clausura (’closing’) tournaments in the most recent completed league season.
However, as Atlas won both championships in 2021/22, one of Mexico’s four spots remained unfilled - and went to Tigres because of their strong league-phase record during the campaign.
“Club Tigres complete Mexico’s line-up as they were the highest-placed [non-finalist] in the Clausura 2022 standings and were the overall leaders in the combined 2021/22 table,” the Liga MX said in a statement in May.
The seven-time Mexican champions came second to Pachuca in the Clausura 2022 regular season with 33 points, having collected 28 points in the Apertura 2021. With a total of 61 points, they took first place in the overall standings, edging out Club América on goal difference.
Tigres were knocked out in the semi-finals of both the Apertura 2021 and Clausura 2022 playoffs.
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Los Felinos, who won the CONCACAF Champions League in 2020, have been drawn with MLS side Orlando City in the 2023 round of 16.
Pachuca, who were paired with Honduras’ Motagua in Monday’s draw, will also be involved in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions League, having booked their spot last month when they won Mexico’s Apertura 2022 - the opening tournament in the 2022/23 domestic season.
Apertura 2022 runners-up Toluca, who lost the final 8-2 on aggregate, have qualified as well.
2023 CONCACAF Champions League round-of-16 draw:
- Violette (HAI) vs Austin FC (USA)
- Tauro (PAN) vs León (MEX)
- Tigres (MEX) vs Orlando City (USA)
- Motagua (HON) vs Pachuca (MEX)
- Real España (HON) vs Vancouver Whitecaps (CAN)
- Alajuelense (CRC) vs Los Angeles FC (USA)
- Olimpia (HON) vs Atlas (MEX)
- Alianza (SLV) vs Philadelphia Union (USA)
The first leg of the round of 16 is to be played between 7 and 9 March 2023, with the second legs scheduled for 14 to 16 March 2023.