CONCACAF Nations League

CONCACAF Nations League

Organising body	CONCACAF
Founded	2018;7 years ago (2018)
Region	North America Central America Caribbean
Number of teams	41
Qualifier for	Gold Cup Copa América
Current champions	Mexico (1st title)
Most successful team(s)	United States (3 titles)
Website	Nations League
2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League

The CONCACAF Nations League (Spanish : Liga de Naciones de la CONCACAF, French : Ligue des Nations de la CONCACAF) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes place on dates allocated for international friendlies on the FIFA International Match Calendar. A one-time qualifying tournament took place from September 2018 to March 2019, with its inaugural edition in 2019. ^{[1] [2]}

History and format competition

The tournament was announced in November 2017. ^[3] It is divided into three tiered leagues, A, B, and C, of four groups each, with promotion and relegation between the leagues based on finishing position within groups. The group winners of League A enter a four-team knockout competition to be crowned champion, while the group winners of Leagues B and C are promoted to the next tier. In Leagues A and B, the four teams at the bottom of the groups are relegated to the next lower tier. ^[4] The tournament also determines which national teams qualify for the next edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. ^[3]

The format proposals were first formally investigated at the XXXII CONCACAF Ordinary Congress in Oranjestad, Aruba on April 8, 2017 ^{[5] [6]} and confirmed by CONCACAF on November 16, 2017. ^[3] CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani stated that the purpose of the competition is to have a regular schedule of international fixtures for CONCACAF's national teams, noting that some teams play fewer than 10 games in a four-year period and needed more competitive games to assist the sport's development in those nations. ^{[7] [8]}

Adjustment from 2023–24

On 28 February 2023, CONCACAF announced a format change for the 2023–24 season of the CONCACAF Nations League. As a result, no teams were relegated from the 2022–23 season. ^[9]

The size of League A was increased from 12 to 16 teams and featured a quarter-final round. The 12 lowest-ranked teams in the CONCACAF Rankings of March 2023 entered the group stage. The teams were divided into two groups of six, with each team playing four matches against group opponents (two at home and two away). The top four teams advanced to the quarter-finals and were joined by the four top-ranked teams in the CONCACAF Rankings. The teams advancing from the group stage were drawn into ties against the top-ranked teams, which were played on a two-legged home-and-away basis.

League B remained unchanged, featuring sixteen teams divided into four groups of four. Each team played six matches in a double round-robin home-and-away format (three at home and three away). Following the format change, League C was reduced from 13 to 9 teams and from four to three groups. Teams were divided into three groups of three teams, with each team playing four matches in a double round-robin home-and-away format (two at home and two away). ^[9]

Promotion and relegation resumed for the 2023–24 season, with the fifth- and sixth-placed teams in League A and the fourth-placed teams in League B being relegated for the next season. The group winners of Leagues B and C were promoted, as was the best second-placed team of League C. ^[9]

Trophy and seasons

The CONCACAF Nations League trophy was unveiled eight days before the inaugural Nations League Finals. The trophy represents all 41 CONCACAF national associations and is made of silver-plated brass and stone. The trophy weighs 8 kg (18 lb) and is 52 cm (20 in) tall. ^[10]

Each season of the CONCACAF Nations League is typically played from September to November (league phase), and March or June of the following year (Nations League Finals of League A). An exception was made in the 2022–23 season when the league phase was played from June 2022 to March 2023, due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup played in Qatar at the end of the year.

Results

Ed.	Season	Hosts		Final				Third place play-off
				Champions	Score	Runners-up		Third place	Score	Fourth place
1	2019–20 Finals	United States		United States	3–2 ( a.e.t. )	Mexico		Honduras	2–2 ( a.e.t. ) (5–4 p)	Costa Rica
2	2022–23 Finals			United States	2–0	Canada		Mexico	1–0	Panama
3	2023–24 Finals			United States	2–0	Mexico		Jamaica	1–0	Panama
4	2024–25 Finals			Mexico	2–1	Panama		Canada	2–1	United States
5	2026–27 Finals			TBD	–	TBD		TBD	–	TBD

Performances

Team	Champions	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place	Total
United States	3 ( 2021 , 2023 , 2024 )	–	–	1 ( 2025 )	4
Mexico	1 (2025)	2 (2021, 2024)	1 (2023)	–	4
Canada	–	1 (2023)	1 (2025)	–	2
Panama	–	1 (2025)	–	2 (2023, 2024)	3
Honduras	–	–	1 (2021)	–	1
Jamaica	–	–	1 (2024)	–	1
Costa Rica	–	–	–	1 (2021)	1

Notes

Italic — Hosts

Competitive records

•  1  – Champions
•  2  – Runners-up
•  3  – Third place
•  4  – Fourth place
•  5  – Quarter-finalists
• – Promoted
• – No movement
• – Relegated
• Q – Qualified for upcoming CONCACAF Nations League Finals
•    – Hosts of CONCACAF Nations League Finals

National Team	Seasons in league			Season
				2019–20		2022–23		2023–24		2024–25		2026–27
	A	B	C	LG	M	LG	M	LG	M	LG	M	LG	M
Anguilla	–	–	5	C		C		C		C		C
Antigua and Barbuda	–	4	1	B		B		B		B		C
Aruba	–	2	3	B		C		C		B		C
Bahamas	–	2	3	C		B		B		C		C
Barbados	–	3	2	C		B		B		C		B
Belize	–	4	1	B		B		B		C		B
Bermuda	1	4	–	A		B		B		B		B
Bonaire	–	2	3	C		C		C		B		B
British Virgin Islands	–	–	5	C		C		C		C		C
Canada	5	–	–	A		A	2	A		A	3	A
Cayman Islands	–	1	4	C		C		C		C		B
Costa Rica	5	–	–	A	4	A		A		A		A
Cuba	3	2	–	A		B		A		A		B
Curaçao	4	1	–	A		A		A		B		A
Dominica	–	3	2	B		C		C		B		B
Dominican Republic	1	4	–	B		B		B		B		A
El Salvador	3	2	–	B		A		A		B		A
French Guiana	1	4	–	B		B		B		A		B
Grenada	2	3	–	B		A		A		B		B
Guadeloupe	1	3	1	C		B		B		A		B
Guatemala	3	1	1	C		B		A		A		A
Guyana	1	4	–	B		B		B		A		B
Haiti	3	2	–	A		B		A		B		A
Honduras	5	–	–	A	3	A		A		A		A
Jamaica	4	1	–	B		A		A	3	A		A
Martinique	5	–	–	A		A		A		A		A
Mexico	5	–	–	A	2	A	3	A	2	A	1	A
Montserrat	–	4	1	B		B		B		B		C
Nicaragua	2	3	–	B		B	[a]	B [a]		A		A
Panama	5	–	–	A		A	4	A	4	A	2	A
Puerto Rico	–	3	2	C		C		B		B		B
Saint Kitts and Nevis	–	3	2	B		C		B		C		B
Saint Lucia	–	4	1	B		C		B		B		B
Saint Martin	–	1	4	C		C		C		B		C
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	–	5	–	B		B		B		B		B
Sint Maarten	–	3	2	C		C		B		B		B
Suriname	4	1	–	B		A		A		A		A
Trinidad and Tobago	4	1	–	A		B	[a]	A [a]		A		A
Turks and Caicos Islands	–	–	5	C		C		C		C		C
United States	5	–	–	A	1	A	1	A	1	A	4	A
U.S. Virgin Islands	–	–	5	C		C		C		C		C

1. Nicaragua originally qualified for promotion to League A as winners of League B Group C, but were disqualified due to fielding an ineligible player. As a result, they were replaced on 12 June 2023, by Trinidad and Tobago. Nicaragua replaced Trinidad and Tobago in League B ^[11]

Broadcasting

CONCACAF

Country/region	Broadcaster		Ref.
	Free	Pay
Aruba	Telearuba
Canada		OneSoccer	[12]
		TSN
Caribbean		Flow	[12]
El Salvador	TCS	Millicom	[13]
Guatemala	RTVG
Nicaragua	Viva Nicaragua
Honduras	TVC
Costa Rica	Repretel
	Teletica
	Multimedios TV
Mexico	TV Azteca
	TelevisaUnivision
Curaçao	TeleCuraçao
Jamaica	CVM (delayed)
Panama	RPC-TV
	TVN
	TVMax
Suriname	SCCN
	SCCN
United States	CBS	Paramount+ (English)	[14] [15] [16]
		CBS Sports Network (English, finals only)
	Univision (Spanish)	VIX

International

All matches are streamed through CONCACAF's streaming service CONCACAF GO.

Country/region	Broadcaster		Ref.
	Free	Pay
Balkan countries   Bosnia and Herzegovina   Croatia   Montenegro   North Macedonia   Serbia   Slovenia		Sport Klub
Brunei		Astro SuperSport
Malaysia
Czechia		Sport1
Slovakia
Denmark		Viaplay
Finland
Iceland
Norway
Sweden
France	L'Équipe
Israel		Sport5
MENA	Dubai Sports
Netherlands		ESPN
South America
Portugal		Sport TV
South Korea		Sky Sports
Turkey		Exxen
		S Spor

Awards

Edition	Best Player	Top scorer	Best Goalkeeper	Best young player	Fair Play Award	Ref
2019–20	Weston McKennie	Gleofilo Vlijter	Luis López		Barbados	[17]
2022–23	Christian Pulisic	Gerwin Lake	Matt Turner		Panama	[18]
2023–24	Gio Reyna	Omari Glasgow	Matt Turner	Omari Glasgow	Panama	[19]
2024–25	Raúl Jiménez	Raúl Jiménez	Luis Malagón

See also

• Continental football championships
• CONCACAF Gold Cup
• CONCACAF W Gold Cup
• CONCACAF W Championship

References

1. "CONCACAF Nations League to Kickoff this September with Qualifiers". CONCACAF.com. The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. 5 March 2018. Archived from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
2. "USMNT beat Canada 2-0 to win second CONCACAF Nations League". SoccerBrief. 18 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
3. "CONCACAF League of Nations Confirmed". CONCACAF.com. The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. 16 November 2017. Archived from the original on 25 December 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
4. "CONCACAF League of Nations – Frequently Asked Questions" (PDF). CONCACAF.com. The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. 16 November 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
5. "Agenda – XXXII CONCACAF Ordinary Congress" (PDF). CONCACAF.com. The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. 15 March 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
6. "CONCACAF Nations League Officially Launched". CONCACAFNationsLeague.com. The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
7. "CONCACAF Announces Gold Cup Expansion to 16 Teams, Opening Access for More Nations to Participate and Host". GoldCup.org. The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. 26 February 2018. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
8. "Montagliani: CONCACAF Gold Cup expansion is additional fuel for the growth of the game". GoldCup.org. The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. 27 February 2018. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
9. "CONCACAF announces formats for men's national team competitions for the 2023–2026 cycle". CONCACAF. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
10. "Concacaf Nations League Trophy unveiled ahead of Final Four". CONCACAF. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
11. "Concacaf Disciplinary Committee decision regarding Nicaragua and the Eligibility of Players" (Press release). CONCACAF. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
12. "Concacaf Nations League deal tightens OneSoccer's grip on Canadian soccer". Sports Business Media. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
13. "Tigo Sports acquires rights to Costa Rica Concacaf Nations League games". SportBusiness Media. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
14. "Concacaf and CBS Sports agree to multi-year media rights partnership for Concacaf Nations League and new Concacaf women's national team competitions". CONCACAF. 27 February 2021.
15. "Paramount+ adds Concacaf soccer rights ahead of US launch - SportsPro Media". 25 February 2021.
16. "USA, Mexico change formations for Concacaf Nations League final". CBS Sports. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
17. "McKennie, Lopez and Vlijter take home CNL honors". Concacaf. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
18. "Pulisic, Turner and Lake take home CNL honors". Concacaf. 18 June 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
19. "Reyna, Turner, Glasgow earn Concacaf Nations League honors". Concacaf. 25 March 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024.

External links

• Official website