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NEW YORK - El Salvador will receive a third berth in next season's 24-team CONCACAF Champions League field, CONCACAF announced on Thursday, getting the spot normally reserved for Belize's club champion.
Belize does not have a stadium which meets CONCACAF'S minimum standards for the Champions League, and has not had a team in the tournament since Hankook Verdes participated in the inaugural season.
Apertura champion Metapan already has qualified for next season's Champions League, one of two teams that have guaranteed participation for a fifth straight year. It will face Aguila in the single-game championship match for the Clausura title on Sunday in San Salvador's Estadio Cuscatlan.
Based on aggregate points from the Apertura and Clausura seasons, FAS, and Aguila will join Metapan in next season's Champions League, which will begin July 31. They become the 12th and 13th teams to guarantee their places in the tournament.
Tournament regulations do not require teams to play in their regular home stadium, but in a facility that meets base requirements in their own country.
El Salvador received the extra berth since it was the only Central American nation to send a team to last season's quarterfinals. Isidro Metapan finished second to Santos Laguna in Group C and reached the final eight before being eliminated by Pumas UNAM.
This is the fourth season berths from either Belize or Nicaragua have been reallocated because of stadium issues. Both Nicaragua and Belize were given a one-year grace period in the inaugural season, but Honduras and Costa Rica were allocated those berths in 2009-2010.
Honduras and Panama were awarded the berths in 2010-2011, and Honduras was the beneficiary last season, as Nicaragua was able to compete through the participation of Real Esteli.
