The 2021
US Open Cup has been cancelled. The winner gets a Champion's League bid, which will have to be awarded another way, tbd.
2021
Concacaf League is just underway, where the four semifinalists get a Champions League bid. It is mostly for the Central American and Caribbean teams, although the Canadian Premier League champion also gets a bid. This year it was Forge FC out of Hamilton Ontario, and they actually won a game in the opening round, knocking off El Salvador's Clausura champion, who is called FAS. They'd have to win two more games in order to get a champion's league bid. Up next is Independiente, which is the top team out of Panama. Both legs in late September (21-23, 28-30).
The
Canadian Championship is another way that they can nab a Champion's League bid. The Vancouver Whitecaps of the MLS were defeated in the opening round by nearby Pacific (CPL) out of Victoria, BC. So now Montreal and Toronto are the only remaining obstacles between the CPL and a Champion's League bid. Quarterfinals on Sept 15. Toronto will play York, which is Toronto's CPL team. Montreal Impact will play the Halifax Wanderers. Forge FC gets Valour out of Winnipeg. Pacific gets the Calgary Cavalry.
Mexico's 2022 Champion's League quartet has already been determined. Champions: Leon, Cruz Azul. Runners up: UNAM, Santos Laguna.
The only other spot that has already been decided is Calvary out of Haiti, who won the Caribbean Tournament. The only other "Caribbean" team that can still get in is actually in Suriname, which is technically in South America, but competes as a member of North America's Caribbean zone, for whatever reason. They have a similar Concacaf League situation as Forge FC, in that they'd have to win the next two rounds in order to nab a Champion's League bid. They had an opening round bye, and get Olimpia, which is the top team out of Honduras, right out of the gate.
And of course on Sept 15th is the second leg of the 2021 Champion's Legue semifinals, at which point the final USA team Philadelphia will likely bow out, already in a 2-0. Pretty high probability of an all Mexican final, which would suck.
