The five Major League Soccer teams who will enter the 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League will learn their group-stage opponents when the tournament draw is held on Wednesday, May 28, in Miami.
Sporting Kansas City, the New York Red Bulls, D.C. United and the Portland Timbers will all participate in Champions League play, to be joined by the winner of the Canadian Championship final between the Montreal Impact and Toronto FC. New York and D.C. United are both making their first appearances since 2009-10, while Kansas City appeared in the competition last year and Portland qualified for the first time.
The group stage will see the 24 teams drawn into eight groups of three teams, who will play four games against each other and produce a group winner that will advance to the quarterfinals in spring 2015. MLS has produced three of the eight quarterfinalists in each of the last three Champions League campaigns.
Here are the potential opponents for each MLS participant:
Sporting Kansas City (MLS Cup), New York Red Bulls (Supporters' Shield) - drawn from Pot A
- 1 from Pot B: Canadian champion, Saprissa (Costa Rica), Real España (Honduras) or Isidro Metapán (El Salvador)
- 1 from Pot C: Municipal (Guatemala), Chorrillo (Panama), either Dragón or FAS (El Salvador), Real Estelí (Nicaragua), Belmopan Bandits (Belize - subject to stadium meeting criteria), Puerto Rico Bayamón (Puerto Rico), Waterhouse (Jamaica) or Alpha United (Guyana)
D.C. United (US Open Cup), Portland Timbers (Western Conference regular season) - drawn from Pot B
- 1 from Pot A: Alajuelense (Costa Rica), Olimpia (Honduras), Comunicaciones (Guatemala) or Tauro (Panama)
- 1 from Pot C: Municipal (Guatemala), Chorrillo (Panama), either Dragón or FAS (El Salvador), Real Estelí (Nicaragua), Belmopan Bandits (Belize - subject to stadium meeting criteria), Puerto Rico Bayamón (Puerto Rico), Waterhouse (Jamaica) or Alpha United (Guyana)
Canadian Championship winner (either Toronto FC or Montreal Impact) - drawn from Pot B
- 1 from Pot A: León (Mexico), Pachuca (Mexico), Sporting Kansas City, New York Red Bulls, Alajuelense (Costa Rica), Olimpia (Honduras), Comunicaciones (Guatemala) or Tauro (Panama)
- 1 from Pot C: Municipal (Guatemala), Chorrillo (Panama), either Dragón or FAS (El Salvador), Real Estelí (Nicaragua), Belmopan Bandits (Belize - subject to stadium meeting criteria), Puerto Rico Bayamón (Puerto Rico), Waterhouse (Jamaica) or Alpha United (Guyana)
American and Mexican teams may not face each other in the group stgae. The two remaining Mexican teams, Club América and Cruz Azul, are in Pot B and cannot be drawn against an MLS team.
