2024/25 Concacaf Nations League | Official Draw

lives football always comes first we all come from different cultures but football unites us one region One Voice one if we listen closely we are born ready to shout and from there we start to play with intensity until the last minute faced with obstacles we work through them we will improve Day by Day always forward making football better everywhere every match our passion is so strong that it breaks down borders even those that are hard to knock down for all of us to reach our dreams we are the region where the game comes first bringing the game closer to our fans and decisions are always made for the good of the sport we raise our level every day making football better everywhere every match we will put all our teams in position to win in our region everyone gets to play connected and respected [Music] one region together we are the collective best of our individual cultures we are millions of souls we are together for the love of our game United for football 41 countries for one [Music] love coner cast love for our game so good to see you good to see you hello everyone and welcome to the official draw for the 20242 conaf Nations League I'm Adriana monsalve and I'll be your host for tonight's event alongside my colleague and friend Debbie bis how are you I'm fantastic good to see you look you dazzlingly beautiful oh my gosh it's so good to share the stage with you today for this very important event we are officially launching the fourth edition of the conaf woo the Nations League it's here Adriana can you believe it oh my gosh it is it is I couldn't agree more with you we have prepared many surprises including the participation of important guests who will support the crucial role of drawing the Spheres but the official kickoff tonight event let's welcome to the stage conaf General Secretary Philip mojio welcome Phil it's good to see you Hi how are you thank you for having us great to be with you good to see you it is awesome I don't know if you remember I'm sure you can remember like six years ago you and I stood um on a stage not too far away from here I would say Miami Beach if I remember very well and together with conaf President um Victor monani we introduced to the world the conaf Nations league so what has happened since and what does this competition mean for conaf and its member associations I remember Adriana very well and it's the same yeah well you you look the same I don't know if I've aged a little bit since then but yeah I remember it very well because a very memorable moment for conaf because the Nations league has been an absolute GameChanger for the Confederation what it's done it's offered Our member associations the opportunity to compete consistently Over a four-year cycle between One World Cup to the next previously when they would be competing in World Cup qualifying a lot of our members would lose in the early rounds and sit idle from uh until the next uh World Cup qualification cycle so now here given the league structure they compete consistently whether it's in Nations League or or qualifying to the to the World Cup and through that competition we've been able to more than double the amount of matches that are being played over a fouryear cycle so it's been an absolute Game Changer wow it sounds amazing now Philip the United States they dominated in the first three uh editions of the tournament right what has been some of your favorite stories out of those three editions absolutely uh we've seen three fantastic Nation League finals in Denver in Las Vegas and in Dallas and the US won all three of those uh editions uh but we've seen great competition throughout the group stages in all three additions uh there's been some fantastic stories we've had seven uh member associations uh get to the finals so that demonstrates how competitive the Nations league is we've had guad uh guadaloop and uh Guatemala qualified to uh League a coming all the way from League C so they're in League a in this uh next Edition and we've seen great stories in terms of of teams and players and the promotion that Nations league has a them uh a great story I love is Omari Glasco from Guyana only 19 years old he won uh the young player award and he won the top scorer award uh for the Nation League in the last Edition and helped Guyana qualify into League a so great stories all around fantastic and this competition it's it's doubtfully one of the competitions that you can see the growth of the region Philip lastly in its majority from the third to the fourth edition the format of the Nations League remains unchanged but we do have an update to leak uh B and C could you please provide us with more details about these changes yes absolutely um there's no changes in terms of the amount of teams uh in each group or the format of the Nations League what has change is that for leagues B and C we have uh centralized where those competitions will be played uh across each group uh versus the previous Home and Away format that we had uh in the previous editions and the reason why we've done that is to allow um our member associations to reduce some of the travel uh difficulties and challenges that exist because of the diversity of our region and how difficult it is to travel so this will allow them to focus even more on on the football and continue to deliver great great football for conquer CF uh and their respective federations that's awesome well thank you Philip for all your inputs but before you leave stay here with us let's watch some of the best moments of the 2023 24 cona CAF Nations league in including the finals in Dallas Texas [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] w [Applause] [Music] with a rocket and the United States leads [Applause] three time cona Nations League champions ghost bumps really exciting and iconic moments there for real and we couldn't have a better ending like another great chapter between Mexico and the United States the biggest rivalry in Kap in this region so Debbie it is time to turn our Focus to the upcoming Edition as Philip mentioned we have updated the competitions former for leaks B and C let's watch the following video to better understand how the conaf Nations League works the cona CAF Nations League was introduced in 2018 and has been a game changer for men's football in our confederation it provides all kaca member associations with the opportunity to compete consistently in a regular schedule of official matches during the four-year cycle between FIFA World Cups drives development and delivers a compelling tournament for fans across the entire region the tournament's fourth edition will be played during the FIFA match Windows of September October and November 2024 followed by the finals in March 2025 the format continues to include three leagues a b and c with the Region's 41 men's senior national teams distributed into the leagues according to the results of the preceding Edition in League a the 12 lowest ranked teams will be divided into two groups of six teams each and the four highest ranked will be preceded in the quarterfinals during the FIFA match Windows of September and October 2024 the league a group stage will play in a Swiss style League system in which each team will play four games two at home and two away after group stage play the group winners and Runners up will advance to the quarterfinals where they will join the League's four top ranked teams the home andway quarterfinals will be played in November 2024 with the winners qualifying for the finals in league b 16 teams will be divided into four groups of four teams each during the FIFA match Windows of September October and November 2024 teams will play every team in their group twice for a total of six matches per team matches for each group will be played at a centralized venue with hosts determined based on the coaa rankings this format change will alleviate some of the travel challenges that member associations face due to our Region's unique geography and allow them the focus on delivering the best possible football in League c nine teams will be divided into three groups of three teams each during the FIFA match Windows of September and October 2024 teams will play every team in their group twice for a total of four matches per team similar to league b matches will take place at a centralized venue per group promotion and relegation between leagues will occur at the end of group Sage play the group winners in league b and the group winners and the best second place finisher in League c will be promoted while the fifth and sixth place finishers in League a and the bottom finishers in league b will be relegated in March 2025 the quarterfinal winners will dispute the cona Nations League finals the finals will include semi-finals a third place match and a final in which the Region's fourth Nations League champion will be crowned the 2024 2025 kaca Nations League will also serve as the qualifiers for the 2025 cocka CAF Gold Cup through the Nations League all 41 cocka CAF member associations will have an opportunity to qualify for next Summer's Gold Cup caaf love for our game well do you have any questions any doubts no no doubts no questions here Adriana perfectly explained now it's important to highlight that based on the results of the preceding Edition 16 national teams have been promoted and relegated between leagues French Guana guadaloop Guyana and Nicaragua have been promoted to League a and Aruba Baner Dominica and St Martin to league b cirasa El Salvador Grenada and Haiti have been relegated to league b and Bahamas Barbados bise and St kits and Nas to League C the other 25 national teams remain in the same league as the previous Edition interesting well David Debbie now that we have reviewed all the crucial details about the 2024 25 conaf Nations League it's time to introduce our next guest who will conduct the draw let's welcome the chief football compet competitions officer of KF Carlos Fernandez hell hola Carlos another draw together another draw together yes one more thank you Adriana and Debbie for that warm introduction it is it's a pleasure to be here tonight and to conduct the group stage draw for the fourth edition of the cona Nations League welcome to all the fans coaches and players watching from home your support and passion for this confederation wide competition does not go unnoticed as Phil pension the Nations league has been game changer for football in our region it has and will continue to provide our members without unprecedent opportunity to compete regularly on the top of the World Cup qual qualifying and now with minor but important changes to the format of the tournament our members can focus even more on what's most important delivering the best possible football on the field tonight we will be conducting the group stage draw for leagues a b and c the draw will be will subdivide teams within each league into groups and determine the fixtures for the upcoming FIFA Windows creating thrilling matchups and intense competition but before we proceed let's watch the video explaining the principles behind the draw procedures all 41 conaf member associations will participate in the fourth edition of the conaf Nations league and have been divided into three leagues a b and c based on the results of the previous Edition and subdivided into pots based on the conaf rankings as of March 31st 2024 League a includes 16 teams with the four highest rank preceded in the quarterfinals and the 12 others divided into six pots of two teams each league b includes 16 teams divided into four pots of four teams each league c nine teams divided into three pots of three teams each the draw will be executed using a single blind system and one League at a time beginning with League C followed by leagues B and A the draw for each league will start with the Spheres from pot one followed by pots 2 3 4 5 and six when applicable in League C the first team drawn by pot one will be assigned to group a position A1 followed by the second team in group b position B1 and the third team in group C position C1 pots two and three will follow the same procedure using group positions two and three respectively at the conclusion of the leag leag C draw each group will contain no more than one team from each pod the same process will be followed for leagues b and a using the predetermined number of groups and pots for each league once all national teams have been assigned a group The draw will conclude conaf love for our game so Debbie any questions no none from me Carlos the table is set but we will need some help drawing the sphere so to do so let's welcome a former goalkeeper from the Trinidad and Tobago Men's National Team with whom he made over 80 appearances at the club level he played in his native Trinidad with W connection and in clubs in Europe Central America and Canada let's welcome J Michael Williams thank you welcome thank you hey how are you good to see you good to see you John Michael I have to ask you this competition has provided all cariban nations with the opportunity to dispute official matches on a regular basis to reach their own goals so in your opinion what has this done to the growth of Caribbean football and how has it help Nations like Trinidad and Jamaica get to the next level well uh growth seems to be the wood for the day um I think the competition allows the opportunity for teams like Jamaica Trinidad and all Caribbean teams the opport to grow as well uh conquer CF is doing its part to help grow the game in the region um with offering teams the opportunity uh to play meaningful games um playing meaningful games on a on a consistent basis allows all the teams to get the opportunity to grow to improve and and to get better I'm I'm actually quite excited and looking forward to this competition we're very happy to have you very well said Carlos over to you thank you Debbie and uh jichael thank you for being here with us tonight uh so uh as previously explained we will start the draw uh for League c nine member associations have been divided into leagues three parts per the conquer cap rankings as follow in part one we have sen kit niis bise and berbos in po two we have Bahamas Cayman Islands and Turks and Kos Islands in po three we have British Virgin Islands US Virgin Islands and anguila and with that J Michael are we ready yes all right let's start with pot one and let's draw the first sphere out of that pot that will go into group a oh yep this one seems to be a little bit tight ehy Barbados Barbados Barbados top scorer is Theory Gale in the Nations league go Barbados thank you J Michael let's proceed then in pot one and the second sphere and first team of Group B that would be Biz Biz Biz will play in League C for the very first time thank you Debbie Michael the last remaining sphere it should be S kits but please let's confirm that St kits St kits it is they will play in League C for the second time in its history the first being back in 2022 thank you J Michael let's go now to part two and the second team to be in group a next with berbos Bahamas the Bahamas the Bahamas they're returning to League C for the first time since the tournament's first edition Michael continue with po two and so we can determine the second team in group b Turks and kikos Turks and caos Billy Forbes the top scorer is from Turks and caos with 10 goals and I know Billy is getting himself ready right now Carlos I bet that's right and jich let's confirm that last Fe is for Cayman Islands Cayman Islands Cayman Islands it came close to securing promotion to league b in the 2019 2020 Edition after finish Runners up of their group only by a goal difference so with that Michael the last and remaining sphere sorry pot for this straw US Virgin Islands US Virgin Islands James Charles Mack is the top scorer hello James how are you I'm sure he's watching I hope so and Michael let's do the second sphere of part three and the remain last and remaining group team from Group B is anguila anguila they will seek promotion to league b for the first time and with that let's confirm that should be British Virgin Islands bres W Island the BVI will play in League C for the fourth consecutive time J Michael thank you so much there you have it guys the leagy groups have been determined J Michael and Carlos what are your thoughts on these groups what are you thinking Carlos well John Michael I don't know what you think but Le Group C for me is the most competitive one with that St kits C in and British Virgin Islands but what are your thoughts on it surprised to see uh St kits uh relegated to the to the league c um but all the groups here have the the ability to go forward and to to make their way back into uh Group B so I'm looking forward to to seeing how those games play off everybody's looking forward about that well thank you JN Michael for the first uh League C draw before we continue with the league b draw let's welcome our second draw assistant who took part in five goal cups and is Honduras alltime top goal cup scorer with nine goals he also holds a record for the most goals scored in a single conaf World Cup qualifying tournament for the 2002 FIFA World Cup with 15 goals let's welcome legenda huras Carlos L Sombra [Applause] pon for thank you somra Carlos the floor is yours thank you Adana and Carlos thank you for being here with us uh with that um league b includes the participation of 16 cona Cav member associations divided into four groups of four these 16 teams have been divided into four pots in accordance with the con rankings as follow in part one we have Haiti kurasa and Dominican Republic in part two we have Bera Puerto Rico monat and St Lucia in part three we have Grenada St Vincent and the Grenadines antia and Bara and Aruba part four we have Dominica boner St Martin and San Martin so with that we're ready to start with our draw Michael back to you and part one to know the first team in group a El Salvador El Salvador will play in league b for the second time in four editions all right jichael let's get the next year of this pot and the first team of Group B CA Cal they'll compete in league b after being part of League a in the previous three editions two remaining spheres two remaining groups it is at Haiti or Dominican Republic for Group C Haiti the Haitian team will look to replicate the its 2022 and 23 league b campaign where they achieve five impressive victories and Michel let's confirm that's Dominican Republic for Group D Dominican Republic Dominica they're returning to league b for the first time since the tournament's inaugural Edition okay now Michael let's move into part two and let's see who will be joining El Salvador in group a monserat monserat has participated in league b for all editions of the Nations League thank you J Michael let's go into Group B and moner once again joining El Salvador in the same group of another Edition that's amazing sta St Lucia the best result in the nation League was second place in group a and Group Well group a of league b back in 2023 thank you and jichael let's go back to part two and the team joining Haiti will be Puerto Rico Puerto Ricos Ricardo Rivera is the second highest quarter in the Nations league history with an impressive 12 goals and jichael back to you and the one remaining sphere joining Dominican Republic Bermuda Bermuda Bermuda will seek to promote League a where they participated in the tournament's first edition okay J Michael back to you and part three joining El Salvador and monat St Vincent and the Grenadines Cornelius story is s Vincent and the graned in stops quarter scoring goals in the first three editions of the conaf Nations League I feel the eyes of So Many Nations looking at the oh I'm pretty sure of that your hands your hands as a goalkeeper of course so tell Michael who will be joining cira in St Lucia that would be Gren Grenada yep so with that jamael back to you and po three so we can determine who will join Haiti and Puerto Rico aruba aruba will play uh in league b for the second time they finished the Third Edition with a perfect record and one last remaining is spere let's confirm that's Antiga and Barbuda Antiga and Barbuda Antiga and Barbuda hello DeAndre Bishop how are you the top scorer in the Nations league with three goals thank you Michael and with that Carlos now four and this is your turn let's solve this puzzle the last remaining teams of each group Bon boner will play in league b for the first time Aon Cecilia with six goals as a top scorer in the Nations league with that we conclude group a let's see who will join group b with Cura St Lucia and Grenada San Martin s Martin JN glake is a nation league's All time top scorer with 15 goals all right back to you now to join Haiti Puerto Rico and Aruba s Martin s Martin will play in league b for the first time they were promoted after four wins in League C last season and with that Fe let's confirm that's Dominica Dominica Dominica returns to league b for the first time since the tournament's inaugural Edition so well there you have it league b groups have been determined group a group b Group C and Group D yeah I'm agree with you none of the these groups have a clear favorite they will all have to fight for League a promotion Carlos the floor is once again yours thank youy thank you once again Adriana now uh League a includes the participation of 16 member associations divided into two stages group stage and quarterfinals the four highest ranked Mexico United States Panama and Canada have been preceded in the quarterfinals while the remaining 12 have been distributed into six parts as follow in part one we have Jamaica and Costa Rica part two we have Honduras and Guatemala in part three we have Trinidad and Tobago and Martinique in part four we have Cuba and gualo part five Nicaragua and Surinam and in part six we have French Guyana and Guyana so with that we're ready to begin this draw so Jang Michael once again back to you in part one in between Jamaica and Costa Rica going into group a Costa Rica Costa Rica is second rank team participating in group stage oh Michael let's confirm confirm now that Jamaica goes into Group B Jamaica David do you want to do the I'm so sorry I have to go home so make sure I do this one J participated in the CNL Chels in the first time back in 20 well the first time in 2024 in the third match they defeated Panama 1 nil go Jamaica she got excited this is what I all about so J Michael back to you part two let's now know the teams joining these groups so is it Honduras or Guatemala Guatemala Guatemala will participate in League a for the second consecutive Edition after debuting in League C in the events first edition so with that jichael let's confirm Honduras in group b with the regular Honduras best participation in the Nations League was the inaugural Edition they finished third place thank you Debbie CH Michael let's move into part three and between Trinidad in Tobago and Martinique who goes into group A or B martinque thank you J Michael and with that let's confirm Trinidad and Tobago then into Group B Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago how you feel about this one joh Michael not sure how to feed right now they will play league a for the third time their best result was reaching the quarterfinals back in 2023 do you remember that I I I do remember that I think um we've we've struggled in previous years but now we on an upward trajectory so I'm looking forward to this good I agree so Carlos now horse you part four and let's see between Cuba and guadaloop who will be joining Costa Rica Guatemala and martinick gual Lupe gual Loop starts started its Nations League Adventure in League C after one addition in League C and two in league b they were promoted to the top league so with that Carlos let's confirm Kuba in group b Kua Cuba will participate in League a for the third consecutive Edition they were promoted from league b after the 2022 2023 Edition Carlos then let's move ourselves into partt five the pot containing Nicaraguan Surinam who will join group a surang Surinam will compete in League a for the third consecutive Edition so Carlos the last remaining steer let's confirm that's nicara joining Jamaica Honduras train at and Tobago at Cuba Nicaragua Nicaragua was promoted to League a after winning their league b group now they finished with an impressive 17 goals in favor so Carlos last po this is what the term is the groups so is it French Guyana or Guyana joining group a Guana Guana alltime top scorer in the coner CF Nation League is Omari Glasgow with 10 goals so with that Carlos French Guyana joining Group B French Guyana French Guyana will participate in League a for the very first time yep well the the groups are already formed uh we can see group a Costa Rica Guatemala martinque gualo Surinam and Guana Group B Jamaica Honduras Trinidad and Tobago Cuba Nicaragua and gualo oh I want french Guyana sorry so I want to ask you because I have we have the matchup here Honduras again Trinidad and Tobago I know you face each other we have a striker and a goalkeeper how many goal scores scored on your on your goal he has he has scored against me unfortunately um but we do have some good memories against huras and I personally have some some good memories against huras so um I think that game will be one of the tough ones tougher ones in the group yeah fantastic fantastic well I think there you have it guys Adriana Carlos Carlos pavon and John Michael unfortunately this is the end of the event it really has been an incredible time sharing the stage with all of you of course all the fans to all the fans around the region we'll see you very soon with the start of the group stage in September until next time John Michael Debbie L Sal Sombra we are out thank you bye bye bye thank you good job [Music] [Music] [Music]