The group stage of the CCL kinda sucks. Groups of three, no significant play between MLS teams and Liga MX, and a bunch of teams involved that don't really deserve to be there in their quality and infrastructure. I want to see qualifying rounds to weed out some of the bottom feeders and fewer teams in four-team groups to make the group stage meaningful.
Group stage would be 16 teams in four groups of four. There would be 12 automatic qualifiers. The remaining four teams go through a three round qualification ladder. Allocation is as follows:
The tournament would then be played as follows:
Qualifying Round 1: Bottom 8 qualifying teams randomly drawn to play a h2h (Lowest from each Central 2-7 and Caribbean)
Qualifying Round 2: Next four qualifying teams are randomly drawn to play a winner from Round 1 (Highest from each Central 3, 5, 6, and Caribbean)
Qualifying Round 3: Top 4 qualifying teams are randomly drawn to play a winner from Round 2 (One from MLS, one from US Open, Two from Liga MX)
Group Stage: 12 Automatic qualifiers are put into four pots and drawn into four groups, no more than two teams from one country per group
Most years, the group stage would have about 5-6 Liga MX teams and 4-5 MLS teams. How much more fun would a groups such as this be?
Group stage is broken and doesn't promote a meaningful competition. I think the above method would make things a lot more interesting and competitive, and allow the MLS and Liga MX to play more games against each other.
Thoughts?
Group stage would be 16 teams in four groups of four. There would be 12 automatic qualifiers. The remaining four teams go through a three round qualification ladder. Allocation is as follows:
Code:
Country/League Automatic Qualifiers
---------------- --------- ----------
MLS* 2 1
United States** 1
Canada*** 1
Liga MX 4 2
Central Nation 2 2 1
Central Nation 3 1 2
Central Nation 4 1 1
Central Nation 5 2
Central Nation 6 2
Central Nation 7 1
Central Nation 8 1
Carribean 1 2
--------- ----------
Total: 12 16
*MLS Cup, Supporter Shield Winner Automatic, Next Best Qualifies
**US Open Cup Qualifies
***Canadian Championship QualifiesThe tournament would then be played as follows:
Qualifying Round 1: Bottom 8 qualifying teams randomly drawn to play a h2h (Lowest from each Central 2-7 and Caribbean)
Qualifying Round 2: Next four qualifying teams are randomly drawn to play a winner from Round 1 (Highest from each Central 3, 5, 6, and Caribbean)
Qualifying Round 3: Top 4 qualifying teams are randomly drawn to play a winner from Round 2 (One from MLS, one from US Open, Two from Liga MX)
Group Stage: 12 Automatic qualifiers are put into four pots and drawn into four groups, no more than two teams from one country per group
Most years, the group stage would have about 5-6 Liga MX teams and 4-5 MLS teams. How much more fun would a groups such as this be?
Code:
Group A
-------
New York Red Bulls (USA)
Cruz Azul (Mexico)
Montreal Impact (Canada)
Comunicaciones (Guatemala)
Group B
-------
Santos Laguna (Mexico)
D.C. United (USA)
Saprissa (Costa Rica)
Olimpia (Honduras)
Group C
-------
Sporting Kansas City (USA)
Leon (Mexico)
Pachuca (Mexico)
Bayamon (Puerto Rico)
Group D
-------
America (Mexico)
Portland Timbers (USA)
Alajuelense (Costa Rica)
Tauro (Panama)Group stage is broken and doesn't promote a meaningful competition. I think the above method would make things a lot more interesting and competitive, and allow the MLS and Liga MX to play more games against each other.
Thoughts?
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