REAL SALT LAKE LEARNS
FIRST TWO GROUP A FIXTURE DATES FOR 2010-11 CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Defending MLS Cup Champs Kick Off International
Tournament August 18 at Rio Tinto Stadium vs. Panamanian Titliest Arabe Unido
SANDY, Utah (Friday, July 9, 2010) – Real Salt Lake’s path for its first-ever foray into meaningful international competition – the 2010-11 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League – became clearer today after soccer’s governing body for North America, Central America and the Caribbean announced the initial pair of fixture dates and sites for the upcoming edition of the regional club championship. Utah’s home side, as the defending MLS Cup champions, will host Panamanian champion Arabe Unido on Wednesday, August 18, 2010. Kickoff at Rio Tinto Stadium for the first of six group matches is 8:00 p.m. MT.
“We are thrilled to learn our CONCACAF slate
and we consider this to be our World Cup,” said RSL General Manager Garth
Lagerwey. “When Real Salt Lake was founded in 2004, part of the franchise’s
promise was to further integrate Utah into the global community and make it a
gateway to the world. With upcoming games now confirmed with teams from
Panama, Canada or Honduras and Mexico, that pledge is now a reality. The
CONCACAF Champions League is a major step in raising the profile of RSL on a
regional level. We hope our fans support us in this ‘Utah against the
World!’ endeavor.”
All RSL season ticket holders are assured of their current seats for the Wed., Aug. 18 match vs. Arabe Unido (Panama) by utilizing “CONCACAF Game A” tickets and have the ability to purchase a select number of additional, specially-priced tickets. Tickets go on sale to the general public via www.RioTintoStadium.com SATURDAY morning at 10:00 a.m. MT.
One week later, Real Salt Lake will travel to
either Mexico City or Panama City for its second of six Group A games,
depending on the Preliminary round results of the two-leg series between Cruz
Azul (Mexico) and San Francisco FC (Panama). RSL’s road contest
against the winner of that series will be played on Wednesday, August 25, just
four days prior to the team’s only 2010 MLS visit of the season to Toronto
FC (Canada), which could ultimately enter RSL’s CONCACAF Group A, should it
win its preliminary series with Motagua (Honduras).
All-time, RSL has posted a 7-4-3 mark against international squads, with all 15 games played as a “friendly” on Utah soil, and RSL owning a positive goal differential (19 goals for / 16 goals against). Arabe Unido joins some of the planet’s most revered clubs in facing Real Salt Lake, as Spain’s Real Madrid (2006), Argentina’s Boca Juniors (2007), England’s Everton FC (2007/09) and Mexico’s Club América and Chivas de Guadalajara (2009) have previously blazed the trail to Utah.
Ticket prices for the Wednesday,
August 18 Real Salt Lake vs. Arabe Unido (Panama) match begin at $14 for
those purchasing KFC vouchers. Arabe Unido (Panama) stand-alone prices
start at just $15 for Upper Deck seats and continue at $18 and $20
in the North and South Goals,$30 in the Lower Sideline area, $40
at East Side Midfield and $60 in the Front Row and West Side Midfield
areas. For more information, please visit www.RealSaltLake.com or www.RioTintoStadium.com.
As Major League Soccer’s champion last
season, Real Salt Lake earned a bye into the Group Stage portion of the
tournament, where it was drawn into Group A. Four other squads from Major
League Soccer, North America’s top-flight league, will also take part in the
2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League, beginning with the team vanquished by RSL in
MLS Cup 2009 – the Los Angeles Galaxy – facing last year’s tournament
upstart, the USSF Division II’s Puerto Rico Islanders – the current home of RSL
defender David Horst, who was sent on loan to the Islanders in April. Defending
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup winner Seattle Sounders FC will also enter in
the Preliminary Round against Salvadoran club Metapan, while last year’s MLS
Supporters Shield holder Columbus Crew will forgo the opening round and
enter as part of the Group B pool, which currently includes Guatemalan
powerhouse Municipal.
RSL’s Group A includes another automatic
qualifier, Panamanian titlist and 2009-10 tournament quarterfinal participant Arabe
Unido (Panama). Those two squads welcome into Group A another pair of
qualifiers, which will be determined when the Preliminary Round is contested
over two legs on July 27-29 and August 3-5. As the winner of the Canadian
Nutrilite Championship – a fifth MLS side, Toronto FC – will take on the
Honduran champion Motagua for the right to enter Group A, with the other
spot to be determined between the most recent tournament runner-up, Cruz
Azul of Mexico, and another outfit from Panama, San Francisco FC.
Group play follows a round-robin format, with
each team competing home and away against the other three teams in the group,
with the top two teams from each of the four groups advancing to the
Championship Round. Played in Feb., March and April, 2011, the Championship
Round features two-leg, home-and-away series at the Quarterfinal, Semifinal and
Final stages, with the 2010/11 CONCACAF Champion crowned in late April and
earning a berth to the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan in December, 2011, where it
will face the club champions from each of the other confederations: UEFA (Europe),
CONMEBOL (South America), AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa) and Oceania (South Pacific).
The 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League will
begin in late July with the first leg of the Preliminary Round, which wraps up
with the second leg a week later. Those winners will advance to the Group
Stage, with the first of its six matchweeks to be contested from August 17-19,
with the second just one week later on August 24-26. Details for the remaining
four Group Stage fixtures will be determined and announced in the upcoming
weeks, with matchweeks three through six competing during the heart of the MLS
Cup Playoff chase on: Sept. 14-16; Sept. 21-23; Sept. 28-30; and Oct. 19-21.
The full schedule for both the Preliminary
and Group Rounds, as well as the Championship Round fixture dates, are as
follows:
2010-11 CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
FIXTURES (as of July 6, 2010, 6:14 p.m.)
QUALIFIERS
North America (9)
United
States (4): Real
Salt Lake (MLS
Cup 2009 winner), Columbus Crew (2009 Supporters Shield), Los
Angeles Galaxy (MLS Cup 2009 runner-up), Seattle Sounders FC (U.S. Open Cup
winner)
Mexico
(4): Monterrey,Toluca, Cruz Azul, Santos
Canada
(1): Toronto FC
Caribbean
(3)
CFU Club
Champions Cup (3): Puerto
Rico Islanders (PUR), Joe Public (TRI), San Juan Jabloteh (TRI)
Central
America (12)
Costa Rica
(2): Saprissa,
Brujas
El
Salvador (2): CD FAS, Metapan
Guatemala
(2): Municipal, Xelaju
Honduras
(2): Olimpia, Marathon, Motagua@
Panama
(2): Arabe Unido, Tauro, San Francisco#
*
Teams in italics qualified automatically for Group Stage
@ Berth reallocated from Belize
Berth reallocated from Nicaragua
PRELIMINARY
ROUND – July 27-29 (Leg 1)
(Home
Team listed first; MLS teams in italics)
Tuesday, July 27:
Toronto (CAN) vs. Motagua (HON) – 6:00 p.m. MT
San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) vs. Santos (MEX) – 6:00 p.m. MT
San Francisco (PAN) vs. Cruz Azul (MEX) – 8:00 p.m. MT
Los Angeles Galaxy (USA) vs. Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) – 8:00 p.m. MT
Wednesday,
July 28:
Tauro FC (PAN) vs. Marathon (HON) – 6:00 p.m. MT
Brujas (CRC)
vs. Joe Public (TRI) – 8:00 p.m. MT
Seattle
Sounders (USA) vs. Metapan (SLV) – 8:00 p.m. MT
Thursday,
July 29:
CD FAS (SLV) vs. Xelaju (GUA) – 8:00 p.m. MT
PRELIMINARY
ROUND – August 3-5 (Leg 2)
(Home
Team listed first; MLS teams in italics)
Tuesday, August 3:
Motagua (HON) vs. Toronto (CAN) – 6:00 p.m. MT
Cruz Azul (MEX) vs. San Francisco (PAN) – 6:00 p.m. MT
Metapan (SLV) vs. Seattle Sounders (USA) – 8:00 p.m. MT
Wednesday,
August 4:
Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) vs. Los Angeles Galaxy (USA) – 6:00 p.m. MT
Marathon (HON) vs. Tauro (PAN) – 8:00 p.m. MT
Santos (MEX) vs. San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) – 8:00 p.m. MT
Thursday,
August 5:
Joe Public (TRI) vs. Brujas (CRC) – 6:00 p.m. MT
Xelaju (GUA) vs. FAS (SLV) – 8:00 p.m. MT
GROUP STAGE – August 17-19 / August 24-26 / Sept. 14-16 / Sept. 21-23 / Sept. 28-30 / Oct. 19-21 (TENTATIVE: confirmed sites/times TBA after prelim results; (Home Team listed first; MLS teams in italics)
Group
A
Real Salt Lake
(USA) San Francisco (PAN) /
Cruz Azul (MEX) winner
Arabe Unido
(PAN)
Toronto (CAN) / Motagua (HON) winner
Group B
Columbus Crew (USA)
San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) / Santos (MEX) winner
Municipal
(GUA)
Brujas (CRC) / Joe Public (TRI) winner
Group C
Monterrey
(MEX)
Seattle Sounders FC (USA) / Metapan (SLV) winner
Saprissa
(CRC)
Tauro (PAN) / Marathon (HON) winner
Group
D
Toluca
(MEX)
Los Angeles Galaxy (USA) / Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) winner
Olimpia
(HON)
CD FAS (SLV) / Xelaju (GUA) winner
MATCHWEEK ONE:
Tuesday, August 17:
Motagua (HON)/Toronto (CAN) winner v. Cruz Azul (MEX)/San
Francisco (PAN) winner – 6:00 p.m. MT
Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) v. Olimpia (HON) – 6:00 p.m. MT
OR
Los Angeles Galaxy (USA) v. Olimpia (HON) – 8:00 p.m. MT
Monterrey (MEX) v. Saprissa (CRC) – 8:00 p.m. MT
Wednesday, August 18:
Joe Public (TRI)/Brujas (CRC) winner v. Santos (MEX)/San Juan
Jabloteh (TRI) winner – 6:00 p.m. MT
Columbus Crew (USA) v. Municipal (GUA) – 6:00 p.m. MT
Real Salt Lake (USA) v. Arabe Unido (PAN) – 8:00 p.m. MT
FAS (MEX)/Xelaju (GUA) winner v. Toluca (MEX) – 8:00 p.m. MT
Thursday, August 19:
Marathon (HON)/Tauro (PAN) winner v. Seattle Sounders (USA)/Metapan
(SLV) winner – 8:00 p.m. MT
MATCHWEEK TWO:
Tuesday, August 24:
San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) v. Columbus Crew (USA) – 6:00 p.m. MT
OR
Santos (MEX) v. Columbus Crew (USA) – 8:00 p.m. MT
Arabe Unido (PAN) v. Toronto (CAN)/Motagua (HON) winner –
8:00 p.m. MT
Wednesday, August 25:
Cruz Azul (MEX)/San Francisco (PAN) winner v. Real Salt Lake
(USA) – 6:00 p.m. MT
Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR)/Los Angeles Galaxy (USA) winner
v. FAS (SLV)/Xelaju (GUA) winner – time TBD
Seattle Sounders (USA)/Metapan (SLV) winner v. Monterrey (MEX) – 8:00 p.m. MT
Thursday, August 26:
Toluca (MEX) v. Olimpia (HON) – 6:00 p.m. MT
Saprissa (CRC) v. Marathon (HON)/Tauro (PAN) winner – 8:00 p.m. MT
Municipal (GUA) v. Joe Public (TRI)/Brujas (CRC) winner – 8:00 p.m.
MT
CHAMPIONSHIP STAGE – 2011 (top TWO teams from each group advance)
QUARTERFINAL
SERIES
Feb.
22-24 (Leg 1)
March
1-3 (Leg 2)
SEMIFINAL
SERIES
March
15-17 (Leg 1)
April
5-7 (Leg 2)
FINALS
April
19-21 (Leg 1)
April
26-28 (Leg 2)