Football tournament
The Caribbean Club Championship, also known as the CFU Club Championship or CFU Club Champions' Cup,[1] was an annual international football competition held amongst association football clubs that are members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU). The Caribbean Club Championship served as a qualifying event for the CONCACAF Champions League tournament.
In 2023, the tournament was replaced by the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup which follows a similar format. This change was made in conjunction with the expansion of the CONCACAF Champions League starting from the 2024 edition.[2]
Qualification
Thirty-one national associations affiliated with the CFU were invited to participate, with each eligible to send two clubs, usually their league champions and runners-up. However, many member nations did not send a representative team every year. CFU also allowed Antigua Barracuda, Puerto Rico Islanders, and Puerto Rico FC (all now defunct) to compete despite being members of the United States league system. This tournament currently sent three or four teams to CONCACAF competitions: the champions enter the CONCACAF Champions League, the runners-up and third place teams enter the CONCACAF League, and the fourth place team competed in a playoff with the Caribbean Club Shield winner for a spot in the CONCACAF League.
The CFU presented an exact replica of the championship trophy to the winning team for their permanent possession.
Participation of member associations
| Country
|
Competitions
|
Years
|
 Haiti
|
19
|
2000–02, 2006–07, 2009–22
|
 Trinidad and Tobago
|
19
|
1997–98, 2000–04, 2006–07, 2009–18
|
 Jamaica
|
18
|
1997–98, 2000, 2002–07, 2013–20, 2022
|
 Suriname
|
16
|
1997, 2000–01, 2003–05, 2007, 2009–12, 2014–17, 2021
|
 Curaçao
|
11
|
2000–01, 2003, 2005–07, 2009–10, 2012, 2014, 2021
|
 Antigua and Barbuda
|
10
|
2000, 2004–07, 2009, 2012–13, 2015, 2017
|
 Puerto Rico
|
10
|
2006–07, 2009–14, 2017, 2021
|
 Guyana
|
8
|
1997, 2001, 2009–12, 2014–15
|
 Guadeloupe
|
7
|
1997–98, 2014–17, 2021
|
 Cayman Islands
|
6
|
2002, 2011–12, 2014, 2016–17
|
 Dominican Republic
|
6
|
2016–18, 2020–22
|
 Dominica
|
5
|
2000, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009
|
 Saint Lucia
|
5
|
2000–02, 2005, 2011
|
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
|
5
|
1997–98, 2010, 2017, 2021
|
 Aruba
|
4
|
2005–07, 2009
|
 Bermuda
|
4
|
2010–12, 2016
|
 Martinique
|
4
|
1997–98, 2002, 2021
|
 U.S. Virgin Islands
|
4
|
2005–07, 2015
|
 Barbados
|
3
|
1997–98, 2000
|
 Montserrat
|
2
|
2004, 2017
|
 Sint Maarten
|
2
|
2017, 2021
|
 Bahamas
|
1
|
2015
|
 Bonaire
|
1
|
2021
|
 Cuba
|
1
|
2007
|
 French Guiana
|
1
|
2021
|
 Saint-Martin
|
1
|
2004
|
 Saint Kitts and Nevis
|
1
|
2011
|
The following associations have never had any team participate in a Club Championship:
Associations in italics have had teams participate in the Caribbean Club Shield
CONCACAF Caribbean Shield
A second-tier competition, called the CONCACAF Caribbean Shield, was introduced in 2018 for clubs from non-professional leagues that worked towards professional standards.[4] Until 2022, the winner of this competition, as long as it fulfills the CONCACAF Regional Club Licensing criteria, played against the fourth-placed team of the Caribbean Club Championship for a place in the CONCACAF League. As of 2023, the winner and runner-up qualify for the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup.
