Atlanta United will open its 2021 season at LD Alajuelense on April 6 in the Round of 16 of the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League (SCCL), Concacaf announced today. The Leg One match will be played at Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto in Alajuela, Costa Rica and kick-off at 8:00 p.m. EST. Atlanta will host the return leg a week later, April 13 (6:00 p.m. EST), at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw.
The 2021 edition of the SCCL will continue to be played in a direct elimination knockout format, with home and away matches in the Round of 16, Quarterfinals and Semifinals. In an exciting development to this year’s edition of the competition, the final will be played as a single leg.
The calendar for the 2021 SCCL Round of 16 matches is as follows, with the home club listed first.
Round of 16 – 1st Leg Matches
Tuesday, April 6, 2021 (all times Eastern)
6:00 p.m. – CD Marathon (HON) vs. Portland Timbers (USA) - Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras
8:00 p.m. – LD Alajuelense (CRC) vs. Atlanta United FC (USA) - Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto, Alajuela, Costa Rica
10:00 p.m. – Arcahaie FC (HAI) vs. Cruz Azul (MEX) - Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Wednesday, April 7, 2021
6:00 p.m. – Deportivo Saprissa (CRC) vs. Philadelphia Union (USA) - Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Ayma, San Jose, Costa Rica
8:00 p.m. – Club Leon (MEX) vs. Forge FC or Toronto FC (CAN) - Estadio Leon, Leon, Mexico
10:00 p.m. – CD Olimpia (HON) vs. Club America (MEX) - Estadio Tiburcio Carias Andino, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Thursday, April 8, 2021
8:00 p.m. – Real Esteli FC (NCA) vs. Columbus Crew SC (USA) - Estadio Nacional, Managua, Nicaragua
10:00 p.m. – Club Atletico Pantoja (DOM) vs. CF Monterrey (MEX) - Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Round of 16 – 2nd Leg Matches
Tuesday, April 13, 2021 (all times Eastern)
6:00 p.m. – Atlanta United FC (USA) vs. LD Alajuelense (CRC) - Fifth Third Bank Stadium, Kennesaw, GA, USA
8:00 p.m. – Portland Timbers (USA) vs. CD Marathon (HON) - Providence Park, Portland, OR, USA
10:00 p.m. – Cruz Azul FC (MEX) vs. Arcahaie FC (HAI) - Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
6:00 p.m. – Forge FC or Toronto FC (CAN) vs. Club Leon (MEX)
8:00 p.m. – Club America (MEX) vs. CD Olimpia (HON) - Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico
8:00 p.m. – Philadelphia Union (USA) vs. Deportivo Saprissa (CRC) - Subaru Park, Chester, PA, USA
Thursday, April 15, 2021
8:00 p.m. – Columbus Crew SC (USA) vs. Real Esteli FC (NCA) - Historic Crew Stadium, Columbus, OH, USA
10:00 p.m. – CF Monterrey (MEX) vs. Club Atletico Pantoja (DOM) - Estadio BBVA, Monterrey, Mexico
The Round of 16 will be followed by home and away quarterfinal matches in late-April and early-May, semifinals in August and September, and a single leg SCCL final in October.
For the Round of 16, the highest ranked club in each matchup will play the first leg away and the second leg at home. For the quarterfinals, the Round of 16 winners of matchups 1, 3, 5 and 7 will play the first leg away and the second leg at home.
For the semifinals, the two best performing clubs in the earlier rounds of the competition will play the first leg away and the second leg at home.
The single leg final will be hosted by the best performing club of the two finalists in the earlier rounds of the 2021 SCCL (based on wins, draws and, if required, goal difference).
The winner of this elite club competition will be crowned regional club champion and will represent the confederation at the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup. The current champion is Tigres UANL after they won the 2020 SCCL and subsequently performed impressively at the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar, where they became the first team from the Concacaf region to reach a Club World Cup final.
Matches will be widely available for fans across the region to follow and enjoy through the Confederation’s TV partner networks, including FOX Sports (USA-English), TUDN (USA-Spanish), Fox Sports Mexico (Mexico-Spanish), ESPN (Central America-Spanish), TSN (Canada-English), Flow Sports (Caribbean-English) and other local partners.
Matches will also be available on the Concacaf Official App (subject to territory restrictions). The free mobile app is available in the Apple and Google Play stores.
2021 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Schedule Windows
Round of 16: April 6-8 (first leg) and April 13-15 (second leg)
Quarterfinals: April 27-29 (first leg) and May 4-6 (second leg)
Semifinals: August 10-12 (first leg) and September 14-16 (second leg)
Final: October 26-28 (single leg)
