Austin FC’s 2023 season is right around the corner, and while fans are still awaiting the release of the team’s Major League Soccer regular season schedule, two very important dates are already on the match calendar for the Verde & Black: the Club’s pair of games against Violette AC in the 2023 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League, which will mark Austin’s debut in the prestigious tournament.
Tournament Format
The Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League is the premier professional soccer competition in the North America, Central America, and Caribbean region, pitting the best teams from domestic leagues in Concacaf member nations against one another in a knockout tournament format.
It’s the region’s equivalent to the famed UEFA Champions League, and just like the European champions, the winner of the Concacaf Champions League each year earns a berth to compete in the FIFA Club World Cup against the winner of each region’s respective continental championship, a collection of the best teams in world soccer.
Each CCL matchup throughout all rounds of the tournament, from the Round of 16 to the Final, will take place over two (2) legs – one home and one away – with the winner determined by aggregate score across the two (2) matches.Â
In the event the aggregate score is tied at the end of regulation in the second leg, away goals will be used as the primary tiebreaker. If the teams score the same number of away goals, the tie will be decided by extra time and a penalty kick shootout if necessary.
Concacaf Champions League at Q2 Stadium: Get Tickets
On November 7, Head Coach Josh Wolff’s side learned its first-ever opponent in the competition when it was drawn against Haitian club Violette AC in the Round of 16. The first leg of the tie against Violette will take place in Santiago, Dominican Republic on Tuesday, March 7 before the two teams meet at Q2 Stadium in Austin for the second leg on Tuesday, March 14 (kickoff at 7:00 p.m. CT).
Tickets for the historic first Concacaf Champions League home match in Austin FC history go on-sale Wednesday, December 14. Oak Collective Waitlist members will have access to a pre-sale beginning at 10 a.m. CT, before tickets become available to the public at 2 p.m. CT.
Austin FC Season Ticket Members automatically receive tickets to the match as a feature of their membership.
Who’s Competing
A total of 16 teams from eight countries (the U.S., Mexico, Canada, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, and Haiti) will compete in the 2023 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League.
Five MLS teams (four American and one Canadian), including Austin, are set to take part. Austin qualified as the best American team in the 2022 MLS Supporters’ Shield standings not already qualified via another mechanism. Los Angeles FC (MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield winners), Philadelphia Union (MLS Eastern Conference winners), Orlando City SC (U.S. Open Cup winners), and Vancouver Whitecaps FC (Canadian Championship winners) will join the Verde & Black in CCL play.
Last year, Seattle Sounders FC became the first MLS (and first non-Mexican) team to win the Concacaf Champions League, and Austin now has the opportunity to become just the second MLS team to accomplish the feat.
