BASSETERRE, ST. Kitts - THE Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) today (Apr. 21) confirmed that the St. Kitts-Nevis Football Association (SKNFA) would be hostingd the Caribbean Club Shield Competition.
The tournament, which is used as a qualifier for clubs in the Caribbean region to make it to the CONCACAF Club Championships, will be played in the Federation in August and will feature more than a dozen teams from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU).
In announcing the decision, CONCACAF also revealed that the fifth edition of the CONCACAF Caribbean Shield would be played between August 3-13, 2023, with the SKNFA hosting.
According to CONCACAF, the “expanded competition will feature a total of 16 clubs from 16 Concacaf Caribbean Member Associations, which are working with CONCACAF towards a long-term vision to professionalize the club game across the region”.
The Federation will be represented by the reigning Premier League Champions, St. Paul’s Football Club.
Details:
"The tournament in St. Kitts and Nevis will kick off with a Group Stage (four groups of four clubs each). After round-robin play, the group winners (four teams in total) will advance to the Semi-finals. The Semi-final winners (two clubs) will dispute the tournament’s final and secure a berth in the 2023 CONCACAF Caribbean Cup.
“Thus far, 15 of the 16 participants have been confirmed. These are, in alphabetical order by Member Association: SV Dakota (Aruba), Scholars International SC (Cayman Islands), CRKSV Jong Holland (Curacao), Sagicor South East FC (Dominica), OyM FC (Dominican Republic), Solidarité Scolaire (Guadeloupe), AS Etoile De Matoury (French Guiana), Waterhouse FC (Jamaica), B1 Football Club (St Lucia), Golden Lion (Martinique), Metropolitan FA (Puerto Rico), St. Pauls United FC (Saint Kitts and Nevis), Junior Stars (Saint Martin), SV Robinhood (Suriname), and SWA Sharks FC (Turks and Caicos Islands).
“The last participating club, from Trinidad and Tobago, will be confirmed by May 28, 2023. The official draw for the 2023 CONCACAF Caribbean Shield will take place on June 8,” CONCACAF said.
Meanwhile, CONCACAF also revealed a new Caribbean Cup that would feature 10 Caribbean clubs divided into two groups of five clubs each.
Details:
“After round-robin play, where each club will play every other club in their group once (a total of four matches, two at home and two away), the two best clubs in each group will advance to the knockout stage.
“The knockout stage of the competition will be composed of three rounds (semifinals, third place play-in, and final), with the champion, runner-up, and third place finisher (three clubs) advancing to the new and expanded Concacaf Champions League, which will be played in the spring of 2024. The Caribbean Cup Champion will receive a bye to the Concacaf Champions League Round of 16.
“Thus far, six clubs have secured their participation in this competition. They are, in alphabetical order by Member Association: Cibao FC (Dominican Republic), Moca FC (Dominican Republic), Club Atletico Pantoja (Dominican Republic), Cavalier SC (Jamaica), Dunbeholden FC (Jamaica), and Harbour View FC (Jamaica).
“The remaining four participants will be confirmed at a later date. They will include two Trinidadian clubs and the champion and runner-up of the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Shield.”
Because of the ongoing situation in Haiti, CONCACAF has determined that clubs from that country would not be part of the competition this year, resulting in the Dominican Republic and Jamaica having been awarded an additional berth in the competition (based on the performance of clubs in the past five editions).
2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup Schedule Windows
Group Stage: August 22-24 (week 1), August 29-31 (week 2), September 19-21 (week 3), September 26-28 (week 4), and October 3-5 (week 5).
Semi-finals: October 24-26 (first legs) and October 31 – November 2 (second legs).
Final and Third Place Play-In: November 28-30 (first legs) and December 5-7 (second legs).
The official draw for the 2023 CONCACAF Caribbean Cup will take place on June 8.
Meanwhile, CONCACAF also announced that the Scotiabank CONCACAF League would be replaced by three regional cup competitions – Leagues Cup, Central American Cup and Caribbean Cup, which would be played in the fall of each year.
These three new cups will qualify clubs for the expanded Champions League.
The announcement comes at an uncertain time for football in St. Kitts-Nevis as officials have not yet fixed the lights at the Warner Park Stadium, which is in poor conditions.
Minister of Sports, Samal Duggins has committed to ensuring that the lights at the premier football facility in the Federation are at top quality.
The Warner Park Cricket Stadium will not be operational at the time, as the country will be preparing for the hosting of matches in the Caribbean Premier League.
