2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League

The 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League, marked the eighth tournament under that name and the 51st edition overall of the region’s top club competition, run by CONCACAF. América entered as the reigning champions and went on to claim a second straight title, beating fellow Mexican side Tigres UANL by a combined score of 4–1 over two legs in the final. That victory gave América a record seventh CONCACAF club championship, counting the earlier Champions’ Cup era, and earned them a spot as the CONCACAF representative at the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, their third appearance at that event.

Qualification rules allowed for a club to be disqualified and replaced by a team from another association if it could not provide a stadium meeting CONCACAF safety standards. A club could use a different suitable stadium within its own country, but if adequate facilities were still unavailable, replacement was possible.

From the North American Football Union, nine teams qualified: four each from Mexico and the United States, and one from Canada. Mexican berths went to the winners and runners-up of the Liga MX Apertura and Clausura tournaments, all placed in Pot 3 of the group stage. If a team won both finals, the extra berth was reassigned based on regular season record. For the United States, three berths came from Major League Soccer’s regular season and playoffs, and the fourth went to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup winner.

The MLS Cup winner, Supporters’ Shield winner, other regular season conference winner, and U.S. Open Cup winner were placed in Pot 3. If a team qualified through multiple routes, or if a Canada-based MLS team took one of the MLS berths, the spot was given to the next best U.S.-based team in the Supporters’ Shield standings that had not already qualified. Because Canada hosted the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the 2015 Canadian Championship was delayed, with its finals in August.

Since no winner was determined before the Champions League started, the Canadian berth (in Pot 1) went to the best Canadian team in the MLS regular season for that season only. The 2015 Canadian Championship winner instead qualified for the 2016–17 edition, and future Canadian Championship schedules were adjusted to finish in June or July, meaning future Voyageurs Cup winners would enter the Champions League the following calendar year.

Twelve teams from the Central American Football Union qualified: two each from Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, and El Salvador, and one each from Nicaragua and Belize. Costa Rican, Honduran, Guatemalan, and Panamanian teams went into Pot 2; those from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Belize went into Pot 1. All these leagues used a split season with two tournaments per year, so both tournament champions qualified if two berths were available. If the same team won both tournaments, the runner-up with the better aggregate record took the second spot. If only one berth was available, the champion with the better aggregate record qualified. If a Central American club was excluded, it was replaced by a club from another Central American association based on past Champions League results.

Three teams from the Caribbean Football Union qualified, all placed in Pot 1. These were the top three finishers of the CFU Club Championship, a subcontinental tournament for clubs from the 31 CFU member associations. To enter that tournament, a club usually needed to be champion or runner-up of its association’s league the previous season, though professional teams playing in another country’s league could be selected by their association. If a Caribbean club was excluded, the fourth-place finisher in the CFU Club Championship took its place.

Twenty-four teams from twelve associations qualified for the tournament. The table of teams listed appearances, last appearance, and previous best result only for the Champions League era starting in 2008–09, not the earlier Champions’ Cup. The competition schedule followed a set timeline. In the group stage, eight groups—A through H—were contested. The knockout stage began with seeding and a bracket, followed by quarterfinals, semifinals, and the final. The top goalscorer was Querétaro’s Emanuel Villa, who became the first player to score five goals in a single CONCACAF Champions League match during his team’s home game against Verdes on September 17, 2015. Villa also received the Golden Boot award.