ATLANTA — Atlanta United begins its 2019 season on Thursday in the club’s first-ever Concacaf Champions League match at CS Herediano in Costa Rica.
The match is scheduled to kick-off at 10 p.m. EST and will be broadcast in the U.S. on Yahoo Sports (English) and Univision (Spanish). For more match information, please view game notes here.
The Concacaf Champions League brings together the top 16 clubs from North America, Central America and the Caribbean, with the winner of the tournament earning a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup. Under the current format, 16 teams qualify: nine clubs from the North American Zone, five from the Central American Zone, one from the Caribbean Zone and one from the Concacaf League. Teams are drawn into a Knockout Bracket with each round played over two legs to decide who advances. Atlanta United qualified as the MLS team with the most combined points from the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
CS Herediano qualified after winning Costa Rica’s Liga FPD 2018 Apertura season and will make its seventh consecutive appearance in Concacaf Champions League play, and ninth overall. CS Herediano has won 27 league titles, third most in league history, and currently sits in ninth place of 12 teams (3-3-3) during 2018-2019 Clausura play.