The CONCACAF Champions' Cup is the annual international football competition held in the CONCACAF region which comprises North America and the Caribbean. The competition is open to the leading domestic club teams in the region.
In the most recent 2004 tournament, eight teams competed - two from Mexico, two from the United States, two from Costa Rica, one from the remainder of Central America, and one from the Caribbean. LD Alajuelense of Costa Rica won the competition.
Although similar to better known competitions such as the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores, the Champions Cup is not nearly as important, and is not taken nearly as seriously by its competitors, as these competitions. One significant reason for this is that, whereas the Champions League offers clubs huge financial rewards, and the Copa Libertadores is not insignificant, teams receive little money for their participation in the Cup. Another significant problem is the dominance of three leagues - Mexico, Costa Rica, and the United States - and the fact that smaller clubs have little chance of competing against these giants.
CONCACAF organizes international competition in a number of events, including the Champions' Cup, qualifying tournaments for all FIFA competitions and the Gold Cup.
The 2000 Gold Cup was perhaps the most surprising, with Canada taking home their first major international title as the U.S. and Mexico failed to qualify for the semifinals.
In early 2001, the Los Angeles Galaxy of MLS claimed the 2000 CONCACAFChampionsCup title, but were unable to represent the region at the 2001 FIFA World Cup Championship that summer when the tournament was canceled by FIFA.
CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) is the continent-wide governing body for association football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
CONCACAF was founded in its current form in 1961 and is one of the six continental confederations affiliated with FIFA.
CONCACAFCup Winners Cup (defunct) - Was for teams that won their nations domestic cup competitions; Held from 1991-1998 ; replaced by CONCACAF Giants Cup
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