May 3 – Concacaf has released details of the 2023/24 Concacaf Nations League (CNL) draw which will frame the first season of the revamped competition and qualification for the major men’s national team competitions to be played in the US in 2024 and 2025. The draw will be held May 16 in Miami.
The 2023/24 Nations League will qualify six Concacaf teams for the 2024 CONMEBOL Copa America that will be held in the US with Conccaf organising. The 2024/25 CNL edition will qualify nations for the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup.
The new format is revolutionary in that it will see League A expanded to 16 teams (up from 12), and the creation of a new quarterfinal round.
The first phase of the competition will see the 12 lowest ranked League A national teams (based on the Concacaf Rankings), split into two groups of six teams each who will play in a ‘Swiss style’ league system, with each team playing a total of four games (two at home and two away).
The top two in each group will advance to the CNL Quarterfinals, where they will join the four top-ranked League A national teams (Mexico, USA, Costa Rica, and Canada).
The new Quarterfinal round will be played in a home-and-away format, with the Quarterfinal winners qualifying for the 2024 CONMEBOL Copa America. The other two qualifiers will be determined via a single direct elimination play-in between the four League A losing Quarterfinalists.
The four quarterfinal winners will also qualify for the Nations League finals in March 2024 at a yet-to-be-announced venue. The 2022/23 Nations League final four kick off in Las Vegas June 15.
The 2023/24 Group Stage will be played during the official FIFA Match Windows in September, October, and November 2023. The new CNL Quarterfinals will also be played in November 2023.
Promotion and relegation between CNL Leagues will be as follows:
- League A: Fifth and sixth-place finishers will be relegated to League B.
- League B: Group winners will be promoted to League A, and fourth-place finishers will be relegated to League C.
- League C: Group winners and the best second-place finisher will be promoted to League B.
2023/24 Concacaf Nations League line up
The three leagues have been decided by the results of the 2022/23 CNL Group Stage, including a promotion system from Leagues B and C to Leagues A and B.
League A (16 teams): Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba (promoted), Curaçao, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala (promoted), Haiti (promoted), Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua (promoted), Panama, Suriname, and the United States.
League B (16 teams): Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Dominican Republic, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Montserrat, Puerto Rico (promoted), Saint Kitts and Nevis (promoted), Saint Lucia (promoted), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten (promoted), and Trinidad and Tobago.
League C (9 teams): Anguilla, Aruba, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Saint Martin, Turks and Caicos Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands.
League A
Seeded in the Quarterfinals: Mexico, USA, Costa Rica, and Canada
Pot 1: Panama and Haiti
Pot 2: Jamaica and Guatemala
Pot 3: Honduras and El Salvador
Pot 4: Martinique and Cuba
Pot 5: Curacao and Suriname
Pot 6: Nicaragua and Grenada
League B
Pot 1: Trinidad and Tobago, French Guiana, Guyana, and Guadeloupe
Pot 2: Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Dominican Republic, and Bermuda
Pot 3: Saint Lucia, Puerto Rico, Montserrat, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Pot 4: Belize, Barbados, Bahamas, and Sint Maarten
League C
Pot 1: Bonaire, Dominica, and Aruba
Pot 2: Turks and Caicos Islands, Cayman Islands, and Saint Martin
Pot 3: Anguilla, US Virgin Islands, and British Virgin Islands
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