CONCACAF revamps Club Shield, – Fruta missing

The Fruta Conquerors will miss this year’s revamped version of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield following cancellation, on the part of CONCACAF, of the original tournament.
The tournament’s postponement came in early April, when concerns were raised about Curacao’s COVID-19 situation and a number of Caribbean teams started pulling out of the tournament for various reasons.
With the COVID-19 pandemic severely affecting the sport if conducted, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) took the decision to have one club football competition, which meant they would allow the clubs from the recently cancelled CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield to join the Flow CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship (FCCCC).
The new draw for groups was hosted on Friday, April 23, and will see a new, one-off, two-round competition taking place in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from May 15-25. However, with 15 clubs on the roster for next month’s competition, Guyana’s Elite League Champions were not among the group.
The Tucville-based Fruta Conquerors Football club were initially part of the Club Shield, and, prior to its cancellation, were training weekly for the event. It is believed that the club initially had trouble securing travel to Curacao for the April 23 to May 7 dates. The reason for their non-participation is still unclear.
For the 15 teams in the new, one-off competition, this will mark the road to 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League. The tournament will take place at the Felix Sanchez and Panamericano Stadiums, and, in Friday’s draw, the 15 clubs were divided into three groups of four teams and one group of three teams.
After round-robin play between May 15 and 20, the team placing first in each group would advance to the semifinals. The semifinals will take place on May 23, and the winners would advance to the competition’s final on May 25.
Group stage action will take place at the Felix Sanchez and Panamericano Stadiums. Semifinals and Final will all be played at the Felix Sanchez.
Provided they fulfill the Concacaf Regional Club Licensing criteria required to participate in Confederation-wide competitions, the champion would qualify for the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League; while the second, third and fourth place finishers will qualify for the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf League.