FOXBOROUGH, Mass.
- The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) today unveiled the preliminary round match-ups for the 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League, and the New England Revolution has been drawn with Joe Public FC of Trinidad & Tobago. The two clubs will meet in a home-and-away, aggregate-goals series in late August and early September, with the winner advancing to the tournament's group stage.
The Revolution will travel to Trinidad & Tobago for the first leg of the series between August 26-28, while the club will host Joe Public FC in the return leg between Sept. 2-4. Exact dates, times and locations for both matches are yet to be determined. The complete schedule for the preliminary round, as well as the group stage pairings, will be revealed at a later date.
New England qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League by virtue of its runner-up status at MLS Cup 2007. The Revolution also secured a place in the tournament through its 2007 U.S. Open Cup championship, but as the club had already qualified, that spot was given to the team with MLS' second-best record last season, Chivas USA.
Joe Public FC currently plays in the Trinidad and Tobago Professional Football League and finished as the league's runner-up in 2007. The club, which is one of three Caribbean qualifiers, earned its spot in the tournament by finishing as the runner-up in the 2007 Caribbean Football Union Club Championship.
The winners of the eight preliminary stage match-ups will join eight previously seeded teams in the group stage, which consists of four groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the Quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League. These eight teams will be drawn into four Quarterfinal pairings to play home-and-away match-ups in February 2009. The four Quarterfinal winners will then play in two Semifinal home-and-away match-ups in March and April 2009, with the two Semifinal winners meeting in the home-and-away 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League Final in late April 2009.
The CONCACAF Champions League winner will qualify as the CONCACAF representative to the 2009 edition of the FIFA Club World Cup.
