2018 CFL season, CFL News in 2018, Schedule
On September 13, 2017, the league announced that the 2018 season would have a 21-week regular season schedule rather than the 20-week schedule used from 2004 to 2005 and 2014 to 2017 when the league had nine teams. This will be the longest, in terms of calendar days, that a CFL season has been. In this model, there will be 18 four-game weeks and three three-game weeks. Every team will have three bye weeks, up from the previous eight teams with two bye weeks and one team with three (while playing two games in one week).


2018 CFL season, CFL News in 2018, Schedule
This change was also a probable result of the backlash received for the 2017 Ottawa Redblacks season schedule that saw the team play 17 games over the first 17 weeks and have their byes in weeks 18 and 20. Ottawa also had to play three games in 11 days as did the Toronto Argonauts, due to the five-game week in week 5.


2018 CFL season, CFL News in 2018, Schedule
On December 14, 2017, the CFL released the 2018 season schedule, which was almost two months earlier than in years past. The season opening game was hosted on June 14 by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the first time they have hosted that game since the 2014 season. The Grey Cup rematch, hosted by the Argonauts, took place in week 2, which was the first time since 2013 that it was not featured in week 1. Three-game weeks will take place in weeks 5, 9, and 14 as three teams will have byes during those weeks.


2018 CFL season, CFL News in 2018, Schedule
There are four triple headers, all occurring on Saturdays and after the Labour Day Classic games, presumably to avoid playing games on Sundays and interfering with TSN's broadcast of National Football League games. There are also 11 double headers this year, with one on a Thursday, three on Fridays, five on Saturdays, and two on Mondays (the traditional Labour Day and Thanksgiving contests). Other than the two Holiday Monday games, all games this season are played between Thursday and Sunday.


2018 CFL season, CFL News in 2018, Schedule
This will be the fourth straight season to showcase Thursday Night Football with 10 of the first 11 weeks featuring Thursday night games, with every team hosting at least once. For the first time since 2014, there are not only all intra-divisional games in the last week of the regular season, but those games are also featured in the last three weeks of the regular season (which also occurred in 2014). There are nine home-and-home series, with the Argonauts playing the most, with four. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have a delayed home-and-home series with the Saskatchewan Roughriders as both teams have a bye during week 5 (in which case, the Tiger-Cats also have four such series).


2018 CFL season, CFL News in 2018, Negotiation lists
In late January 2018 CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie announced that teams would be required to make public the names of 10 of the 45 players on their negotiation lists twice per year; once in February and once in December. The negotiation list is the process by which non-Canadian players enter the CFL; in lieu of a draft, teams instead unilaterally claim rights to any non-Canadian player by placing them on the list at any time on a first come, first served basis. The decision to go public was supported by the league's presidents, governors and general managers. On February 20, 2018 all nine CFL teams announced 10 players on their negotiation list.


2018 CFL season, CFL News in 2018, NFL window
On July 20, 2018 the nine CFL owners voted to reinstate the "NFL window". All players who sign contracts after August 20, 2018 will be eligible to work out (attend try-outs and mini-camps) and sign contracts with NFL teams during the off-season. CFL rookies will still be required to sign two year contracts, but now have the opportunity to have their contract terminated if signed by an NFL team after their first year.


2018 CFL season, CFL News in 2018, Quarterback Safety
In the middle of the CFL playoffs the CFL announced that they would be adding an eighth official to the final three playoff games with the sole purpose of identifying and penalizing any instances of violent impacts to the neck or head of a quarterback. The change came about as a result of injuries to Zach Collaros and Brandon Bridge who both received violent hits to the head.


2018 CFL season, CFL News in 2018, Rules changes
In March the CFL's Rules Committee submitted a variety of rule changes to the Board of Governors, to be implemented for the 2017 season. As was the case in 2017, the proposed changes once again focused on improving game flow and increasing player safety. The proposals were reviewed and accepted by the CFL's Board of Governors on May 23, 2018.


2018 CFL season, Broadcasting
Broadcast agreements with the ESPN family of networks, including TSN in Canada, continue. In the United States, games not carried on ESPN's linear networks will now be placed behind a hard paywall for all viewers as ESPN+ takes over streaming those games; they had previously been carried on ESPN3, the cost of which had been bundled into the price set by the Internet service provider.


2018 CFL season, Broadcasting
Although the CFL's agreement with TSN has since been extended to 2021, that extension did not cover U.S. rights, which expire after 2018. The CFL has admitted courting a return to NFL Network, which carried the league's games in 2010 and 2011; such a move would require the league to move its schedule a month earlier than it starts now, potentially overlapping with the Stanley Cup Finals.


2018 CFL season, Regular season, Structure
Teams play eighteen regular season games, playing two divisional opponents three times and all of the other teams twice. Teams were awarded two points for a win and one point for a tie. The top three teams in each division qualified for the playoffs, with the first place team gaining a bye to the divisional finals. A fourth place team in one division may qualify ahead of the third place team in the other division (the "Crossover"), if they earn more points in the season. If a third-place team finishes in a tie with the fourth place team in the other division, the third place team automatically gets the playoff spot and there is no crossover.


2018 CFL season, Regular season, Structure
If two or more teams in the same division were equal in points, the following tiebreakers applied:


2018 CFL season, Regular season, Standings
Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points


2018 CFL season, CFL Playoffs
The Grey Cup was played at The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium on November 25, 2018. Stampeders' QB, Bo Levi Mitchell was named Grey Cup MVP and Stampeders' wide receiver, Lemar Durant was named the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian.


2018 CFU Women's Challenge Series
The 2018 CFU Women's Challenge Series was a football competition in the Caribbean region, held amongst the women's national teams whose football associations are affiliated with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), a sub-confederation of CONCACAF.


2018 CFU Women's Challenge Series
The competition was announced by the CFU in March 2018. It is the third women's competition organized by the CFU, after the 2000 CFU Women's Caribbean Cup and the 2014 CFU Women's Caribbean Cup. It is played in April 2018 across five venues, and serves as preparation for the CONCACAF Championship and World Cup qualifiers starting in May. Unlike the two previous CFU Women's Caribbean Cup tournaments, there is no final round and thus no overall champion.


2018 CFU Women's Challenge Series, Teams
A total of 20 teams (out of 31 CFU members) entered the competition.


2018 CFU Women's Challenge Series, Groups
The 20 teams are divided into five groups of four. In each group, teams play each other once at a centralised venue. Medals are awarded to each group winner and runner-up.


2018 CFU Women's Challenge Series, Groups, Group A
Host venue: Warner Park Sporting Complex, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis (all times UTC−4)


2018 CFU Women's Challenge Series, Groups, Group B
Host venue: UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence and Waterhouse Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica (all times UTC−5)


2018 CFU Women's Challenge Series, Groups, Group C
Host venue: Stade Sylvio Cator, Port-au-Prince, Haiti (all times UTC−4)


2018 CFU Women's Challenge Series, Groups, Group C
Note: Due to withdrawal of two teams, the remaining two teams play each other twice.


2018 CFU Women's Challenge Series, Groups, Group D
Host venue:  Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda (all times UTC−4)


2018 CFU Women's Challenge Series, Groups, Group E
Host venue: Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, Trinidad and Tobago (all times UTC−4)


2018 CHA Women's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2018 College Hockey America Women's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 16th tournament in league history played between March 1 and March 3, 2018, at the Harborcenter in Buffalo, New York. Mercyhurst won their 12th tournament and earned College Hockey America's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Tournament.


2018 CHA Women's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
All six CHA Teams participated in the Tournament. On the first day of the Tournament, the top two seeds received a bye, while the #3 seed played the #6 seed, and the #4 seed played the #5 seed in the Quarterfinal round. On the second day, the Semifinal games featured the #1 seed against the lowest remaining seed, while the #2 seed played the highest remaining seed. On the third and final day, the CHA Championship was played between the two Semifinal winners. There was a total of five games.


2018 CHA Women's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format, Standings
The Tournament Champion earned a berth in the 2018 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Tournament to determine the national champion. The Mercyhurst Lakers were the number 8 seed out of 8 in the tournament, and lost to #1 seed Clarkson 3–2 in overtime on March 10, in Potsdam, New York.


2018 CIK-FIA Karting European Championship
The 2018 CIK-FIA European Championship was the 47th edition of the CIK-FIA Karting European Championship and held championships in the KZ, KZ2, OK, OKJ and Superkart classes.


2018 CL
2018 CL is a micro-asteroid and a near-Earth object of the Aten group, approximately 50 metres (160 feet) in diameter. It was the first confirmed finding, detected on 5 February 2018, announced on 8 February 2018, of the Zwicky Transient Facility project, located at Palomar Observatory, California, in the United States.


2018 CME Group Tour Championship
The 2018 CME Group Tour Championship was the eighth CME Group Tour Championship, a women's professional golf tournament and the season-ending event on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. It was played at the Gold Course of Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Florida.


2018 CME Group Tour Championship
The CME Group Tour Championship also marked the end of the season-long "Race to the CME Globe" in 2018. Each player's season-long "Race to the CME Globe" points were "reset" before the tournament based on their position in the points list. "Championship points" were awarded to the top 40 players in the CME Group Tour Championship which were added to their "reset points" to determine the overall winner of the "Race to the CME Globe". The event was televised by Golf Channel Thursday through Saturday on a 2-hour delay, and ABC Sunday live.


2018 CME Group Tour Championship
Lexi Thompson won the tournament by four strokes over Nelly Korda, while Ariya Jutanugarn won the Race to the CME Globe and took the $1,000,000 bonus.


2018 CME Group Tour Championship, Format, Qualification
Called the "CME Group Titleholders" for its first three editions, qualification for the tournament changed for 2014. Previously, the top three finishers in each tournament, not previously qualified, earned entry to the tournament. For 2014 the field was determined by a season-long points race, the "Race to the CME Globe". All players making the cut in a tournament earned points, with 500 points going to the winner. The five major championships had a higher points distribution, with 625 points to the winner. No-cut tournaments only awarded points to the top 40 finishers.


2018 CME Group Tour Championship, Format, Qualification
Only LPGA members were eligible to earn points. The top 72 players on the "Race to the CME Globe" points list gained entry into the CME Group Titleholders Championship as well as any tournament winners, whether or not an LPGA member, not in the top 72.


2018 CME Group Tour Championship, Format, Field
1. Top 72 LPGA members and those tied for 72nd on the "Race to the CME Globe" Points Standings


2018 CME Group Tour Championship, Format, Field
Marina Alex, Brittany Altomare, Aditi Ashok, Céline Boutier, Chella Choi, Chun In-gee, Carlota Ciganda, Jacqui Concolino, Lindy Duncan, Austin Ernst, Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Hannah Green, Jaye Marie Green, Georgia Hall, Nasa Hataoka, Brooke Henderson, Wei-Ling Hsu, Charley Hull, Ji Eun-hee, Ariya Jutanugarn, Moriya Jutanugarn, Danielle Kang, Haeji Kang, Cristie Kerr, Megan Khang, Kim Sei-young, Katherine Kirk, Ko Jin-young, Lydia Ko, Jessica Korda, Nelly Korda, Bronte Law, Minjee Lee, Lee Jeong-eun, Lee Mi-hyang, Mirim Lee, Brittany Lincicome, Pernilla Lindberg, Yu Liu, Gaby López, Mo Martin, Caroline Masson, Ally McDonald, Azahara Muñoz, Anna Nordqvist, Su-Hyun Oh, Amy Olson, Ryann O'Toole, Annie Park, Jane Park, Park Sung-hyun, Pornanong Phatlum, Ryu So-yeon, Lizette Salas, Jenny Shin, Sarah Jane Smith, Mariah Stackhouse, Thidapa Suwannapura, Emma Talley, Lexi Thompson, Ayako Uehara, Angel Yin


2018 CME Group Tour Championship, Format, Field
Qualified but did not play: Shanshan Feng, Sandra Gal, Caroline Inglis, Kim Hyo-joo, In-Kyung Kim, Inbee Park, Jennifer Song, Angela Stanford, Michelle Wie, Amy Yang


2018 CME Group Tour Championship, Format, Field
2. LPGA Members, not otherwise qualified, who won at least one official LPGA tournament during the season


2018 CME Group Tour Championship, Format, Field
3. Non -members who won at least one official LPGA tournament during the season


2018 CME Group Tour Championship, Format, Field
4. Those beyond 72nd on the "Race to the CME Globe" Points Standings to fill the field to 72 players


2018 CME Group Tour Championship, Format, Field
Ashleigh Buhai, Pei-Yun Chien, Daniela Holmqvist, Tiffany Joh, Wichanee Meechai, Park Hee-young, Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras, Maria Torres, Mariajo Uribe, Sakura Yokomine


2018 CME Group Tour Championship, Race to the CME Globe, Reset points
Each player's "Race to the CME Globe" points were "reset" before the tournament based on their position in the "Race to the CME Globe" points list. The leader was given 5,000 points, the player in second place 4,500 down to 10 points for the player in 72nd place.


2018 CME Group Tour Championship, Race to the CME Globe, Final points
"Championship points" were awarded to the top 40 players in the CME Group Tour Championship which were added to their "reset points" to determine the overall winner. The winner of the CME Group Tour Championship receiver 3,500 points, the second place player 2,450, down to 150 points for the player finishing in 40th place. The effect of the points system is that the top five players in the reset points list prior to the Championship would be guaranteed to win the "Race to the CME Globe" by winning the Championship. The top 12 in the reset points list would have a chance of winning the Race depending on the performances of other players.


2018 CME Group Tour Championship, Race to the CME Globe, Bonus
The winner of the "Race to the CME Globe" receives a $1 million bonus that does not count toward official money list, while second place and third place receive $150,000 and $100,000, respectively.


2018 CMT Music Awards
The 2018 CMT Music Awards were held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on June 6, 2018. Little Big Town was the host for the show. The CMT Music Awards are a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances; Voting takes place on CMT's website.


2018 CN2
2018 CN2 is a very small asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object of the Apollo group, approximately 5 to 16 meters in diameter. It was first observed by astronomers of the Mount Lemmon Survey at Mount Lemmon Observatory, Arizona, on 8 February 2018, one day prior its close encounter with Earth at 0.18 lunar distances.


2018 CN2, Orbit and classification
2018 CN2 is a member of the Apollo asteroids, which cross the orbit of Earth. Apollo's are the largest group of near-Earth objects with nearly 10 thousand known objects.


2018 CN2, Orbit and classification
Based on a high orbital uncertainty, this asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.63–1.77 AU once every 16 months (482 days; semi-major axis of 1.20 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.47 and an inclination of 26° with respect to the ecliptic. With an aphelion of 1.77 AU, it is also a Mars-crosser, as it crosses the orbit of the Red Planet at 1.666 AU. The body's observation arc begins at Mount Lemmon with its first observation on 8 February 2018.


2018 CN2, Orbit and classification, Close encounters
The object has an exceptionally low minimum orbital intersection distance with Earth of 11,500 km (0.000077 AU), or 0.03 lunar distances (LD).


2018 CN2, Orbit and classification, Close encounters, 2018 flyby
On 9 February 2018, 2018 CN2 passed at a nominal distance of only 69,900 km; 43,400 mi (0.000466964 AU) from Earth at 7:25 UTC. This corresponds to 0.18 LD. Based on the body's high orbital uncertainty, all subsequent close encounters in 2022, 2023, 2026, 2027 and 2031, are projected to occur at a distance of more than 15 million kilometers (0.1 AU; 39 LD).


2018 CN2, Physical characteristics
The Minor Planet Center estimates a diameter of 5–16 meters. Based on a generic magnitude-to-diameter conversion, 2018 CN2 measures between 9 and 17 meters in diameter, for an absolute magnitude of 27.653, and an assumed albedo between 0.057 and 0.20, which represent typical values for carbonaceous and stony asteroids, respectively.


2018 CN2, Physical characteristics
As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of 2018 CN2 has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.


2018 CONCACAF Awards
The shortlists for the 2018 CONCACAF Awards were announced on 11 December 2018.


2018 CONCACAF Awards
The awards are for performances between 1 January and 10 December 2018. The results were announced on 15 January 2019.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League
The 2018 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2018 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 10th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 53rd edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League
The format of the tournament was changed as part of a new CONCACAF club competition platform consisting of two tournaments (CONCACAF League and CONCACAF Champions League) and a total of 31 teams competing during the season (an increase from the previous 24 teams), with 16 teams competing in the newly created CONCACAF League from August to October, and the winners of the CONCACAF League joining the 15 direct entrants competing in the CONCACAF Champions League from February to April. As a result, the 2018 edition was played using a new format that included the removal of the group stage, a reduction in participating teams from 24 to 16, and a total reduction in matches from 62 to 30.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League
Guadalajara defeated Toronto FC in the final to win their second CONCACAF club title and their first in the Champions League era, and qualified as the CONCACAF representative at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Pachuca won the previous tournament but did not qualify for this tournament and were unable to defend their title.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Qualification
A total of 16 teams participated in the CONCACAF Champions League:


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Qualification
Therefore, teams from either 8 or 9 out of the 41 CONCACAF member associations could participate in the CONCACAF Champions League.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Qualification, North America
The nine berths for the North American Football Union (NAFU) were allocated to the three NAFU member associations as follows: four berths each for Mexico and the United States, and one berth for Canada.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Qualification, North America
For Mexico, the champions and runners-up of the Liga MX Apertura and Clausura Liguilla (playoff) tournaments qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. If there was any team which were finalists of both tournaments, the vacated berth was reallocated using a formula, based on regular season records, that ensured that two teams qualified via each tournament.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Qualification, North America
For the United States, four teams qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League, three through the Major League Soccer (MLS) season and one through its domestic cup competition:


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Qualification, North America
If there was any team which qualified through multiple berths, or if there was any Canada-based MLS team which were champions of the MLS Cup, the Supporters' Shield, or conference regular season, the vacated berth was reallocated to the U.S.-based team with the best MLS regular season record not yet qualified.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Qualification, North America
For Canada, the champions of the Canadian Championship, its domestic cup competition which awards the Voyageurs Cup, qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. While some Canada-based teams competed in MLS, they could not qualify through either the MLS regular season or playoffs.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Qualification, North America
In line with the launch of the new format, which placed the Canadian representative directly in the CONCACAF Champions League beginning in early 2018, the Canadian Soccer Association announced in March 2017 that a special one-match playoff between the 2016 champions Toronto FC and the 2017 champions would be played on 9 August 2017 in Toronto to determine who would qualify for the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League, except in the case that Toronto FC won the 2017 edition, in which the playoff would be unnecessary and Toronto FC would qualify automatically. As Toronto FC did later win the 2017 Canadian Championship, the playoff was not played.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Qualification, Central America
The five berths for the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) were allocated to five of the seven UNCAF member associations as follows: one berth for each of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama. As all of the leagues of Central America employed a split season with two tournaments in one season, the champions with the better aggregate record (or any team which were champions of both tournaments) in the leagues of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Qualification, Central America
If teams from any Central American associations were excluded, they were replaced by teams from other Central American associations, with the associations chosen based on results from previous CONCACAF Champions League tournaments. For this season, the team from Guatemala was excluded due to the suspension of their federation by FIFA and was replaced by an additional team from Costa Rica.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Qualification, Caribbean
The sole berth for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) was allocated via the Caribbean Club Championship, a subcontinental tournament open to the clubs of all 31 CFU member associations. To qualify for the Caribbean Club Championship, teams had to finish as the champions or runners-up of their respective association's league in the previous season, but professional teams could also be selected by their associations if they played in the league of another country. The champions of the Caribbean Club Championship qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Qualification, CONCACAF League
Besides the 15 direct entrants of the CONCACAF Champions League, another 16 teams (13 from Central America and 3 from the Caribbean) entered the CONCACAF League, a tournament held from August to October prior to the CONCACAF Champions League. The champions of the CONCACAF League qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Teams
The following 16 teams (from eight associations) qualified for the tournament.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Teams
In the following table, the number of appearances, last appearance, and previous best result count only those in the CONCACAF Champions League era starting from 2008–09 (not counting those in the era of the Champions' Cup from 1962 to 2008).


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Draw
The draw for the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League was held on 18 December 2017, 19:00 EST (UTC−5), at the Univision Studios in Miami, and was streamed on YouTube.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Draw
The draw determined each tie in the round of 16 (numbered 1 through 8) between a team from Pot 1 and a team from Pot 2, each containing eight teams. The "Bracket Position Pots" (Pot A and Pot B) contained the bracket positions numbered 1 through 8 corresponding to each tie.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Draw
The teams from Pot 1 were assigned a bracket position from Pot A and the teams from Pot 2 were assigned a bracket position from Pot B. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other in the round of 16 except for "wildcard" teams which replaced a team from another association.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Draw
The seeding of teams was based on the new CONCACAF Club Index. Each team qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League based on criteria set by the respective associations (e.g., tournament champions, runners-up, cup champions), resulting in an assigned slot (e.g., MEX1, MEX2) for each team. The CONCACAF Club Index, instead of ranking each team, was based on the on-field performance of the teams that had occupied the respective qualifying slots in the previous five editions of the CONCACAF Champions League. To determine the total points awarded to a slot in any single edition of the CONCACAF Champions League, CONCACAF used the following formula:


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Draw
The 16 teams were distributed in the pots as follows:


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Format
In the CONCACAF Champions League, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still tied, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations, II. D. Tie-Breaker Procedures).


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Schedule
Times up to 10 March 2018 (round of 16 and quarter-finals first legs) were Eastern Standard Time, i.e., UTC−5, thereafter (quarter-finals second legs and beyond) times were Eastern Daylight Time, i.e., UTC−4 (local times are in parentheses).


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Round of 16
In the round of 16, the matchups were decided by draw: R16-1 through R16-8. The teams from Pot 1 in the draw hosted the second leg.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Round of 16, Summary
The first legs were played from 20–22 February, and the second legs were played from 27 February – 1 March 2018.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Quarter-finals
The winners of round of 16 matchups 1, 3, 5, 7 hosted the second leg.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Quarter-finals, Summary
The first legs were played from 6–7 March, and the second legs were played from 13–14 March 2018.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Semi-finals
The semi-finalists in each tie which had the better performance in previous rounds hosted the second leg.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Semi-finals, Summary
The first legs were played on 3–4 April, and the second legs were played on 10 April 2018.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Final
In the final (Winner SF1 vs. Winner SF2), the finalist which had the better performance in previous rounds hosted the second leg.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Final, Summary
The first leg was played on 17 April, and the second leg was played on 25 April 2018.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final
The 2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final was the final round of the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League, the championship for association football clubs in CONCACAF, representing North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The 2018 edition was the tenth edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name and first since being re-organized into a single-year tournament.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final
The final was contested in a two-legged series between Toronto FC from Canada and Guadalajara from Mexico. The first leg was hosted in Toronto on 27 April 2018, at BMO Field in Toronto, while the second leg was hosted in Guadalajara on 25 April 2018, at the Estadio Akron in Guadalajara. Guadalajara won the final 4–2 in a penalty shoot-out after the series was tied 3–3 on aggregate. As a result, they earned the right to represent CONCACAF at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup, entering at the second round.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Teams
In the following table, final until 2008 were in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup era, since 2009 were in the CONCACAF Champions League era.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Venues
Toronto's BMO Field, with a seating capacity of 30,000, hosted the first leg of the final; it opened in 2007 and was renovated in 2016. The second leg took place in Guadalajara at the Estadio Akron, which opened in 2010 and has a capacity of 48,071. The two stadiums hosting the final were also candidates for the 2026 FIFA World Cup bid shared between Canada, Mexico, and the United States.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Background
The CONCACAF Champions League was established in 2008 as the continental championship for football clubs in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, succeeding the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. During its first nine editions, the Champions League consisted of a group stage in summer and autumn followed by a knockout stage during the following spring. Beginning with the 2018 edition of the tournament, the group stage was re-formed as the CONCACAF League and limited to Central American and Caribbean teams.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Background
The Champions League was shortened to a two-month knockout tournament between teams from North American and major Central American nations, as well as the winner of the CONCACAF League. The knockout tournament falls within the beginning of Major League Soccer's season, which operates on a summer schedule unlike other football leagues.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Background
Toronto FC were appearing in their first final, and were the second Canadian team to have reached the final after Montreal Impact finished as runners-up in 2015. Only four teams from Major League Soccer (three American, one Canadian) on five occasions had managed to reach the final of the Champions League or the Champions' Cup. In addition to Montreal Impact, LA Galaxy (in 1997) and Real Salt Lake (in 2011) had previously lost in the final. D.C. United (in 1998) and LA Galaxy (in 2000) were the only two MLS teams to have won the competition, doing so during the Champions' Cup era. Of these five finals, four were against Mexican opponents, with only D.C. United managing to win.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Background
Guadalajara had previously appeared in three finals, all in the Champions' Cup era. They won the inaugural edition in 1962, before finishing second the following year after withdrawing from the final. Guadalajara appeared in their next final 44 years later in 2007, losing to fellow Mexican club Pachuca on penalties. Mexican teams were the most successful in the history of the Champions League/Champions' Cup, with a total of 12 teams having won a combined 33 titles. Mexican teams had appeared in every final since 2005, and won every tournament since 2006. There had been a total of eleven all-Mexican finals, all since 2002, including the previous two finals.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Road to the final
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Road to the final, Toronto FC
Toronto FC qualified for the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League as winners of the 2016 and 2017 editions of the Canadian Championship. The berth was originally going to be determined via a play-off match in August 2017 between the winners of the two tournaments had another team won either edition, due to the restructuring of the Champions League. Toronto had appeared in four prior Champions Leagues, finishing as high as the semi-finals in 2011–12, losing to eventual runners-up Santos Laguna.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Road to the final, Toronto FC
The team also won the 2017 MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield, completing MLS's first ever domestic treble, but could not qualify for the Champions League through either because the berths were designated for a team from the United States. Ironically, Toronto's coach, assistant coach, and several starting players were previous part of Chivas USA, an MLS team affiliated and wholly owned by Guadalajara.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Road to the final, Toronto FC
Toronto was placed into Pot 1 and drawn against fellow MLS club Colorado Rapids in the Round of 16. Toronto played the first leg away in Commerce City, Colorado on February 20, winning 2–0 during the coldest ever match involving MLS teams, measured at 3 °F (−16 °C) at kickoff and −16 °F (−27 °C) with wind chill. The team advanced into the quarter-finals with a 0–0 draw at home in Toronto, winning the series 2–0 on aggregate. Toronto played Mexican champions Tigres UANL in the quarter-finals and won the home leg 2–1 with a late goal from Jonathan Osorio. The team took a 2–1 lead in the away leg, but two goals from André-Pierre Gignac gave Tigres a 3–2 win and a 4–4 aggregate tie. Toronto advanced on away goals, becoming one of two MLS teams to advance to the semi-finals.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Road to the final, Toronto FC
Toronto hosted the first leg of the semi-finals against Club América on April 3, winning 3–1 after two unanswered goals in the 44th and 58th minutes. The match included a half-time altercation between Toronto and América players, in which América coach Miguel Herrera accused Toronto Police of assaulting his players. To prepare for the away leg at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Toronto moved a league fixture and spent several days acclimating to the altitude in Pachuca.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Road to the final, Toronto FC
In the away leg, Toronto took an early lead in the 12th minute, but América equalized on a last-minute penalty, bringing the aggregate score to 4–2. Toronto became the third Major League Soccer team and second Canadian team to advance to a Champions League final, following Real Salt Lake in 2011 and the Montreal Impact in 2015.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Road to the final, Guadalajara
C.D. Guadalajara, also known as Chivas, qualified for the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League as winners of the 2017 Clausura in Liga MX. The 2018 tournament was the team's second under the current Champions League format, having finished in the group stage in 2012–13. Under manager Matías Almeyda, Chivas advanced to seven finals in various tournaments since 2015.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Road to the final, Guadalajara
Guadalajara was drawn with Cibao FC, winners of the 2017 CONCACAF League, in the Round of 16. The team stayed in Puerto Plata, approximately 45 miles (72 km) from the stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros, due to a tobacco growers' conference that filled available hotel space. Guadalajara won the first leg in the Dominican Republic by a 2–0 margin and the second leg 5–0. In the quarter-finals, Guadalajara played Seattle Sounders FC of MLS and lost the first leg 1–0 away in Seattle.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Road to the final, Guadalajara
The return leg remained scoreless until the second half, which saw three goals from Chivas to win the match 3–0. Chivas advanced to the final on a 1–0 aggregate win over the New York Red Bulls in the semi-finals. Isaác Brizuela scored the lone goal of the series in the first leg, played in Guadalajara, while the second leg in New Jersey ended scoreless.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Format
The final was played in a home-and-away two-legged series, with the team with the better performance in previous rounds hosting the second leg.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Format
If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still tied, a penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Broadcasting
Both legs of the final were broadcast in English on TSN2 in Canada and in Spanish on Univision Deportes in the United States, where it was also aired on sister station UniMás. Fox Sports broadcast in Mexico and the rest of Latin America. Go90 also streamed the games in English in the United States.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Matches, First leg, Summary
The first leg was hosted in Toronto at BMO Field on 17 April, where the kickoff temperature was 1 °C (34 °F) and snow flurries fell through the match. Prior to the match, the new Champions League trophy was unveiled by CONCACAF officials.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Matches, First leg, Summary
Chivas took the lead in the second minute on a goal scored by Rodolfo Pizarro, during an attack that originated from a throw-in by Isaác Brizuela, who assisted Pizarro's goal. Toronto's Jonathan Osorio scored the equalizing goal in the 19th minute, finishing an attack started by Marky Delgado deep in the midfield. Toronto took control of possession and shooting chances through to halftime, but failed to score after two saves by Chivas's backup goalkeeper Miguel Jiménez.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Matches, First leg, Summary
During the first half, Toronto's Jozy Altidore vomited several times on the pitch — the cause being a "stomach bug" that several Toronto players reportedly received in the semi-finals against América. Chivas regained partial control of the match in the second half, alternating attacks with Toronto as both teams sought to take the lead. Chivas scored the match's winning goal in the 72nd minute on a free kick by Alan Pulido, which was misread by goalkeeper Alex Bono and ended up in the far side of the goal. Toronto failed to finish in its later attacks, which also included a no-call penalty for an alleged foul on Sebastian Giovinco.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Matches, First leg, Details
Assistant referees:Juan Carlos Mora (Costa Rica)Ainsley Rochard (Trinidad and Tobago)Fourth official:Saíd Martínez (Honduras)


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Matches, Second leg, Summary
The second leg was hosted in Guadalajara at Estadio Akron on 25 April. Toronto fielded some midfielders and wingbacks in defensive roles due to injuries, including captain Michael Bradley and right back Gregory van der Wiel; midfielder Víctor Vázquez returned from injury to start the match. Chivas extended their aggregate lead to 3–1 on a goal scored by Orbelín Pineda in the 19th minute. Toronto responded with two goals in the 25th and 44th minutes by Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco, bringing the series level on aggregate.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Matches, Second leg, Summary
The 2–1 lead for Toronto held through to the end of the second half, despite chances from both teams, including a missed shot by Toronto's Marky Delgado. The final was decided in a penalty shoot-out, which was won 4–2 by Guadalajara after four rounds. All four of Chivas's penalty takers scored, while Toronto's Jonathan Osorio and Michael Bradley both missed.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Matches, Second leg, Details
Assistant referees:Gerson López (Guatemala)Christian Ramírez (Honduras)Fourth official:Kimbell Ward (Saint Kitts and Nevis)


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Post-match
Guadalajara's win was the thirteenth consecutive Champions League or Champions' Cup title won by a Mexican team. As a result, Guadalajara qualified for the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup as CONCACAF's representative.


2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final, Post-match
Toronto FC's Jonathan Osorio and Sebastian Giovinco won the tournament's Golden Boot and Golden Ball, respectively. Guadalajara's Rodolfo Cota and Rodolfo Pizarro won the tournament's Golden Glove and the Best Young Player, respectively.


2018 CONCACAF League
The 2018 CONCACAF League (officially the 2018 Scotiabank CONCACAF League for sponsorship purposes) was the second edition of the CONCACAF League, a football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.


2018 CONCACAF League
Herediano defeated Motagua in the final to win their first CONCACAF League, and qualified for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League to join the 15 direct entrants. Olimpia were the title holders, but did not qualify for this tournament and were unable to defend their title, and consequently their streak of participating in all ten editions of the CONCACAF Champions League since 2008 ended.


2018 CONCACAF League, Qualification
A total of 16 teams participate in the CONCACAF League:


2018 CONCACAF League, Qualification
Therefore, teams from either 8 or 9 out of the 41 CONCACAF member associations may participate in the CONCACAF League.


2018 CONCACAF League, Qualification, Central America
The 13 berths for the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) are allocated to the seven UNCAF member associations as follows: two berths for each of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, and Nicaragua, and one berth for Belize.


2018 CONCACAF League, Qualification, Central America
All of the leagues of Central America employ a split season with two tournaments in one season, so the following teams qualify for the CONCACAF League:


2018 CONCACAF League, Qualification, Central America
If teams from any Central American associations are excluded, they are replaced by teams from other Central American associations, with the associations chosen based on results from previous CONCACAF League and CONCACAF Champions League tournaments. For this season, the two teams from Guatemala were excluded due to the suspension of their federation by FIFA and were replaced by an additional team each from Costa Rica and Panama.


2018 CONCACAF League, Qualification, Caribbean
The three berths for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), which consists of 31 member associations, are allocated via the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship and CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, the first-tier and second-tier subcontinental Caribbean club tournaments. Since 2018, the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship is open to teams from professional leagues, and the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield is open to teams from non-professional leagues.


2018 CONCACAF League, Qualification, Caribbean
To qualify for the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship, teams have to finish as the champions or runners-up of their respective association's league in the previous season, while to qualify for the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, teams have to finish as the champions of their respective association's league in the previous season.


2018 CONCACAF League, Qualification, Caribbean
The runners-up and third-placed team of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship, and the winners of a playoff between the fourth-placed team of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship and the champions of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, qualify for the CONCACAF League. For the champions of the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield to be eligible for the playoff, they must comply with the minimum CONCACAF Club Licensing requirements for the CONCACAF League.


2018 CONCACAF League, Teams
The following 16 teams (from eight associations) qualified for the tournament.


2018 CONCACAF League, Draw
The draw for the 2018 CONCACAF League was held on 23 May 2018, 19:00 EDT (UTC−4), at the Pullman Hotel in Miami.


2018 CONCACAF League, Draw
The draw determined each tie in the round of 16 (numbered 1 through 8) between a team from Pot 1 and a team from Pot 2, each containing eight teams. The "Bracket Position Pots" (Pot A and Pot B) contained the bracket positions numbered 1 through 8 corresponding to each tie.


2018 CONCACAF League, Draw
The teams from Pot 1 were assigned a bracket position from Pot A and the teams from Pot 2 were assigned a bracket position from Pot B. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other in the round of 16 except for "wildcard" teams which replaced a team from another association.


2018 CONCACAF League, Draw
The seeding of teams were based on the CONCACAF Club Index. Each team qualified for the CONCACAF League based on criteria set by the respective associations (e.g., tournament champions, runners-up, cup champions), resulting in an assigned slot (e.g., CRC2, CRC3) for each team. The CONCACAF Club Index, instead of ranking each team, was based on the on-field performance of the teams that have occupied the respective qualifying slots in the previous five editions of the CONCACAF League and CONCACAF Champions League. To determine the total points awarded to a slot in any single edition of the CONCACAF League or CONCACAF Champions League, CONCACAF used the following formula:


2018 CONCACAF League, Draw
The 16 teams were distributed in the pots as follows:


2018 CONCACAF League, Format
In the CONCACAF League, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis.


2018 CONCACAF League, Schedule
All times are Eastern Daylight Time, i.e., UTC−4, as listed by CONCACAF (local times are in parentheses).


2018 CONCACAF League, Round of 16
In the round of 16, the matchups were decided by draw: R16-1 through R16-8. The teams from Pot 1 in the draw hosted the second leg.


2018 CONCACAF League, Round of 16, Summary
The first legs were played on 31 July – 2 August, and the second legs were played on 7–9 August 2018.


2018 CONCACAF League, Quarter-finals
The winners of round of 16 matchups 1, 3, 5, 7 hosted the second leg.


2018 CONCACAF League, Quarter-finals, Summary
The first legs were played on 21–23 August, and the second legs were played on 28–30 August 2018.


2018 CONCACAF League, Semi-finals
The semi-finalists in each tie which had the better performance in previous rounds hosted the second leg.


2018 CONCACAF League, Semi-finals, Summary
The first legs were played on 20 September, and the second legs were played on 27 September 2018.


2018 CONCACAF League, Final
In the final (Winner SF1 vs. Winner SF2), the finalists which had the better performance in previous rounds hosted the second leg.


2018 CONCACAF League, Final, Summary
The first leg was played on 25 October, and the second leg was played on 1 November 2018.


2018 CONCACAF League, Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:


2018 CONCACAF League Final
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Mediocre Legacy (talk | contribs) at 05:30, 13 April 2021. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


2018 CONCACAF League Final
The 2018 CONCACAF League Final was the final round of the 2018 CONCACAF League, the second edition of the CONCACAF League, the secondary club football tournament organised by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.


2018 CONCACAF League Final
The final was contested in two-legged home-and-away format between Herediano from Costa Rica and Motagua from Honduras. The first leg was hosted by Herediano at the Estadio Eladio Rosabal Cordero in Heredia on 25 October 2018, while the second leg was hosted by Motagua at the Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino in Tegucigalpa on 1 November 2018.


2018 CONCACAF League Final
Herediano won the final 3–2 on aggregate for their first CONCACAF League title.


2018 CONCACAF League Final, Teams
For the second consecutive season, the final of the CONCACAF League was competed between teams from Costa Rica and Honduras.


2018 CONCACAF League Final, Road to the final
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).


2018 CONCACAF League Final, Format
The final was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the team with the better performance in previous rounds hosting the second leg.


2018 CONCACAF League Final, Format
The away goals rule would not be applied, and extra time would be played if the aggregate score was tied after the second leg. If the aggregate score was still tied after extra time, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations II, Article G).


2018 CONCACAF League Final, Matches, First leg
Assistant referees:José Luís Camargo (Mexico)Marvin Torrentera (Mexico)Fourth official:Fernando Guerrero (Mexico)


2018 CONCACAF League Final, Matches, Second leg
Assistant referees:Juan Zumba (El Salvador)Ronald Bruna (Panama)Fourth official:John Pitti (Panama)


2018 CONCACAF U-13 Champions League
The 2018 CONCACAF Champions League U13 was the fourth edition of the competition. The tournament began on 15 August 2018 with the group stage rounds and concluded on 22 August 2018 with the championship round.


2018 CONCACAF U-13 Champions League
The U-13 team of Los Angeles FC won the title defeating Juniors Tampico, 2–0 in the championship game. Los Angeles FC became the first American club to win the competition.


2018 CONCACAF U-13 Champions League, Qualification
Teams were invited by CONCACAF to participate in the competition.


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship
The 2018 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was the 6th edition of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship (27th edition if all eras included), the men's under-20 international football tournament organized by CONCACAF. It was hosted at Bradenton, Florida, United States between 1–21 November 2018.


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship
A new format was announced, removing the regional Central American and Caribbean qualifiers and guaranteeing each entrant a minimum of four competitive games.


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship
The competition would determine the four CONCACAF representatives at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland, The United States, Mexico, Panama and Honduras qualified. It would also determine the CONCACAF teams playing at the 2019 Pan American Games men's football tournament in Lima, Peru.


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship
The United States were the defending champions of the competition. They successfully defended their title as hosts, winning the final 2–0 against Mexico for their 2nd CONCACAF U-20 Championship title.


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, Teams
Unlike previous tournament, there was no qualification for this edition, and a total of 34 teams (out of 41 CONCACAF members) directly entered the final tournament. Among them are all three members of the North American Football Union (NAFU), all seven members of the Central American Football Union (UNCAF), and 24 (out of 31) members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU).


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, Venues
Matches were at played at four stadiums in the IMG Academy:


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, Draw
The draw for the final tournament was held on 13 September 2018, 10:00 EDT (UTC−4), at the CONCACAF Headquarters in Miami. Based on the CONCACAF Men's Under-20 Ranking, the top six ranked teams were seeded into position one of each group, while the remaining 28 teams were distributed in five pots as follows:


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, Draw
The 34 teams were drawn into six groups: four groups of six teams and two groups of five teams. The winners from each group in the group stage advance to the qualification stage, where the six teams are divided into two groups of three teams (winners of Groups A, C and E in one group, winners of Groups B, D and F in another group). The top two teams from each group in the qualification stage qualify for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, with the group winners also advancing to the final to decide the champions of the CONCACAF U-20 Championship.


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, Squads
Players born on or after 1 January 1999 are eligible to compete. Each team must submit a provisional 35-player roster (4 must be goalkeepers) and a final 20-player roster (2 must be goalkeepers). After the completion of the group stage, a team advancing to the qualification stage may replace up to six players with those from the provisional roster.


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, Group stage
The winners of each group in the group stage advance to the qualification stage. If the winners of a group is a non-FIFA member, the highest-ranked FIFA member in the group advances to the qualification stage (Regulations Article 12.9).


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, Group stage
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). The rankings of teams in each group are determined as follows (regulations Articles 12.5 and 12.8):


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, Group stage
If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings are determined as follows:


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, Group stage
All times are local, EDT (UTC−4) up to 3 November, EST (UTC−5) starting 4 November.


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, Qualification stage
The top two teams of each group in the qualification stage qualify for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, with the winners of each group also advancing to the final to decide the champions of the CONCACAF U-20 Championship.


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, Final
In the final, if the match is level at the end of 90 minutes, extra time is played, and if still tied after extra time, the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out (Regulations Article 12.10).


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, Awards, Individual awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, Goalscorers
There were 397 goals scored in 87 matches, for an average of 4.56 goals per match.


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, Qualification for international tournaments, Qualified teams for FIFA U-20 World Cup
The following four teams from CONCACAF qualify for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, Qualification for international tournaments, Qualified teams for Pan American Games
The tournament was used to determine the four teams from CONCACAF which would qualify for the 2019 Pan American Games men's football tournament. The top team from each of the three zones, i.e., Caribbean (CFU), Central American (UNCAF), and North American (NAFU), would qualify, with the fourth team to be determined by CONCACAF at a later date. However, United States declined to participate, so Mexico qualified for the North American berth.


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, Controversy, Cuban defectors
Twelve of the Cuban players (Arturo Hector Godoy, Bruno Manuel Rendon Cardoso, Christopher Yoel Llorente Fernandez, Danny Echeverria DiazFrank Leidam Nodarse Chavez, Geobel Perez Oquendo, Josue Vega Alvarez, Juan Manuel Andreus Milanes, Omar Perez RamirezOmar Proenza Calderon, Rivaldo Ibarra Thompson, Rolando Aldahir Oviendo Valdez and Yandri Romero Clark.) opted to stay in United States following the team's exit from the competition.


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, Controversy, Visa issues
Octavio Rodríguez, the assistant coach of the Guatemalan staff team and four players; Carlos Orellana (Guastatoya), Carlos Monterroso (Municipal), Nelso Iván García (Communications) and Luis Francisco Estrada (Siquinalá) were denied visas to participate in the tournament. A further seven players from Honduras were also denied visas.


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship squads
The squad listings for the 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship. The squads were announced on 29 October 2018.


2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship squads
Upon completion of the group stage, five of the six group winners made alterations to their squad.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship
The 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship was the 10th edition of the CONCACAF Women's Championship (also known as the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup or the CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament), the quadrennial international football championship organised by CONCACAF for the women's national teams of the North, Central American and Caribbean region. Eight teams played in the tournament, which took place from 4 to 17 October 2018 in the United States.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship
The tournament served as the CONCACAF qualifiers to the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France. The top three teams qualified for the World Cup, while the fourth-placed team advanced to a play-off against the third-placed team from the South American confederation, CONMEBOL. It also determined the CONCACAF teams playing at the 2019 Pan American Games women's football tournament in Lima.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship
The United States were the defending champions of the competition. They successfully defended their title as hosts, winning the final 2–0 against Canada for their 8th CONCACAF Women's Championship title.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship
This was the last CONCACAF tournament branded as the "Women's Championship". In August 2019, CONCACAF announced a rebranding of the competition as the CONCACAF W Championship.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship, Qualification
Regional qualification tournaments were held to determine the teams playing in the final tournament.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship, Qualification, Qualified teams
The following eight teams qualified for the final tournament. Canada, Mexico, and the United States, as members of the North American Football Union (NAFU), qualified automatically. Two teams from the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) and three teams from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) qualified from their regional qualifying competitions.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship, Venues
The venues were announced by CONCACAF on 8 April 2018. Sahlen's Stadium and H-E-B Park hosted the group stage matches, while Toyota Stadium hosted the four matches in the knockout stage.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship, Draw
The draw for the final tournament was held on 4 September 2018, 10:00 EDT (UTC−4), at the Univision Studios in Miami. The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams. They were seeded into four pots. Pot 1 contained the United States, seeded in Group A, and Canada, seeded in Group B. The remaining six teams were allocated to Pots 2–4 based on the CONCACAF Women's Rankings. The two teams from UNCAF could not be drawn into the same group.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship, Squads
The provisional 35-player roster (4 must be goalkeepers) for each team was announced by CONCACAF on 10 September 2018. The final 20-player roster (2 must be goalkeepers) for each team was announced by CONCACAF on 26 September 2018. After the final 20-player roster was submitted, only injury-related changes would be submitted until 24 hours before each team's first match.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advance to the semi-finals.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship, Group stage
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). The rankings of teams in each group are determined as follows (regulations Article 12.12):


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship, Group stage
If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings are determined as follows:


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship, Knockout stage
In the semi-finals, if the match was level at the end of 90 minutes, no extra time would be played and the match would be decided by a penalty shoot-out. In the third place match and final, if the match was level at the end of 90 minutes, extra time would be played, and if still tied after extra time, the match would be decided by a penalty shoot-out (Regulations Article 12.14).


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship, Knockout stage, Semi-finals
Canada and United States qualified for 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. Panama and Jamaica entered into the third place play-off.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship, Knockout stage, Third place play-off
Jamaica qualified for 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. Panama entered CONCACAF–CONMEBOL play-off vs. Argentina.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship, Awards, Individual awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship, Goalscorers
There were 83 goals scored in 16 matches, for an average of 5.19 goals per match.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship, Qualification for international tournaments, Qualified teams for FIFA Women's World Cup
The following three teams from CONCACAF qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. Panama failed to qualify losing out the play-off to 2018 Copa América Femenina third-placed team, Argentina.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship, Qualification for international tournaments, Qualified teams for Pan American Games
The tournament was used to determine the four teams from CONCACAF which would qualify for the 2019 Pan American Games women's football tournament. The top team from each of the three zones, i.e., Caribbean (CFU), Central American (UNCAF), and North American (NAFU), would qualify, with the fourth team to be determined by CONCACAF at a later date. However, both United States and Canada declined to participate to focus on the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, so Mexico qualified for the North American berth.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship qualification
The 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship qualification is a women's football competition which decides the participating teams of the 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship qualification
A total of eight teams played in the final tournament, which was held in the United States.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship qualification, Teams
A total of 30 (out of 41) CONCACAF member national teams entered, with three automatic qualifiers, and the remaining 27 teams entering regional qualification tournaments.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship qualification, Teams
FIFA Women's World Rankings in March 2018 in parentheses (NR=Not ranked; N/A=Not applicable as they are not a FIFA member).


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship qualification, Format
In each group of all rounds, teams played each other once at a centralised venue.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship qualification, Format, Tiebreakers
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). The rankings of teams in each group are determined as follows (regulations Articles 12.4 and 12.7):


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship qualification, Format, Tiebreakers
If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings are determined as follows:


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship qualification, Central American Zone
In the Central American Zone, four UNCAF member national teams entered the qualifying competition. The four teams were placed into one group, with the top two teams qualifying for the final tournament as the UNCAF representatives.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship qualification, Central American Zone
The qualifying competition was originally scheduled to take place in Nicaragua, but a new host was selected due to security concerns caused by civil unrest in Nicaragua. In July 2018, CONCACAF announced that all games would be played at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, United States.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship qualification, Caribbean Zone
In the Caribbean Zone, 23 CFU member national teams entered the qualifying competition, consisting of two stages. All teams entered the first round, and were drawn into three groups of five teams and two groups of four teams. The winners of each group advanced to the final round, where they were placed into one group, with the top three teams qualifying for the final tournament as the CFU representatives.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship qualification, Caribbean Zone
The draw of the qualifying competition was held on 27 March 2018, 12:00 UTC−4, at the CONCACAF headquarters in Miami Beach, Florida. Dominican Republic, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, and Guyana were automatically seeded in Groups A–E respectively as hosts of each first round group, while the remaining 18 teams were seeded based on CONCACAF's own ranking.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship qualification, Caribbean Zone, Final round
CONCACAF announced on 7 June 2018 that Jamaica would host the final round.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship qualification, Goalscorers
There were 261 goals scored in 54 matches, for an average of 4.83 goals per match.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship squads
The 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship was an international women's football tournament held in the United States from 4–17 October 2018. The eight national teams involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of 20 players, including two goalkeepers. Only players in these squads were eligible to take part in the tournament.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship squads
The provisional 35-player squad lists were announced on 10 September 2018. From the preliminary squad, the final list of 20 players per national team was submitted to CONCACAF 24 hours before each team's first match.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship squads
The final 20-player roster (2 must be goalkeepers) for each team was announced by CONCACAF on 26 September 2018. Following this, only injury-related replacements were permitted.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship squads
The position listed for each player is per the official squad list published by CONCACAF. The age listed for each player is on 4 October 2018, the first day of the tournament. The numbers of caps and goals listed for each player do not include any matches played after the start of tournament. The nationality for each club reflects the national association (not the league) to which the club is affiliated.


2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship squads, Group B, Canada
Erin McLeod initiallly was included in the squad but missed the 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship due to a foot injury. McLeod was replaced by Kailen Sheridan


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship
The 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship was the 6th edition of the CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by CONCACAF for the women's under-17 national teams of the North, Central American and Caribbean region. The tournament was initially to be hosted by Nicaragua, and was planned to take place between 19–29 April 2018, as announced by CONCACAF on 5 December 2017. A total of eight teams participated in the tournament.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship
On 22 April 2018, four days into the tournament, CONCACAF announced the remainder of the championship was cancelled immediately due to security concerns caused by civil unrest in Nicaragua. On 11 May 2018, CONCACAF announced the tournament would resume play on 6 June and conclude on 12 June 2018, with the remainder of the tournament hosted at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, United States. Six teams played in the remainder of the tournament, as Nicaragua and Puerto Rico were already eliminated and were set to face each other in their last match.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship
The top three teams of the tournament qualified for the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Uruguay as the CONCACAF representatives.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship
Defending champions United States defeated Mexico in the final to win their fourth title.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, Qualification
Regional qualification tournaments were held to determine the teams playing in the final tournament.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, Venues
All matches of the original tournament in Nicaragua were played at Nicaragua National Football Stadium in Managua. All matches of the rescheduled tournament were played at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, Draw
The draw of the tournament was held on 31 January 2018, 15:00 EST (UTC−5), at the CONCACAF Headquarters in Miami.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, Draw
The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams. Tournament hosts Nicaragua were seeded in position A1, while defending champions United States were seeded in position B1. The remaining six teams were allocated to pots 2–3, and drawn to the remaining six positions.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, Squads
Players born on or after 1 January 2001 are eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team must register a squad of 20 players, two of whom must be goalkeepers (Regulations Articles 15.C.2).


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advance to the semi-finals.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, Group stage
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 18.A.5):


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, Group stage
All times are local, CST (UTC−6) for Nicaragua and EDT (UTC−4) for the United States.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, Knockout stage
In the semi-finals, if the match is level at the end of 90 minutes, no extra time is played and the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out. In the third place match and final, if the match is level at the end of 90 minutes, extra time is played, and if still tied after extra time, the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out (Regulations Articles 11.C and 11.D).


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, Qualified teams for FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
The following three teams from CONCACAF qualified for the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, Goalscorers
Note: Players in bold are still active in the competition.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship qualification
The 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship qualification is a women's under-17 football competition which decides the participating teams of the 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship. A total of eight teams will play in the final tournament. Players born on or after 1 January 2001 are eligible to compete in the tournament.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship qualification, Teams
A total of 27 (out of 41) CONCACAF member national teams entered, with four automatic qualifiers, and the remaining 23 teams entering regional qualification tournaments.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship qualification, Central American Zone
In the Central American Zone, four UNCAF member national teams entered the qualifying competition, hosted by Panama. The four teams were placed into one group, with the winners qualifying for the final tournament as the UNCAF representatives together with Nicaragua who qualified automatically as hosts.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship qualification, Central American Zone
The schedule of the qualifying competition was announced on 26 September 2017. All times local, UTC−5.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship qualification, Caribbean Zone
In the Caribbean Zone, 19 CFU member national teams entered the qualifying competition, consisting of two stages. Apart from Haiti, which received a bye as hosts of the final round, the remaining 18 teams entered the first round, and were drawn into three groups of four teams and two groups of three teams.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship qualification, Caribbean Zone
The winners of each group advance to the final round to join Haiti, where they are divided into two groups of three teams, with the top three teams (the two group winners which play in the final, and the winners of the third place match played between the two group runners-up) qualifying for the final tournament as the CFU representatives.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship qualification, Caribbean Zone
The draw of the qualifying competition was held on 6 June 2017, 10:00 UTC−4, at the CONCACAF headquarters in Miami Beach, Florida. Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Guyana, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines were automatically seeded in Groups A–E respectively as hosts of each first round group, while the remaining 14 teams were seeded based on the results of the previous two editions of the qualifying competition. Any of the top five-ranked teams (Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, Bermuda) could not be drawn into the same group.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship squads
The following is a list of squads for each national team competing at the 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship. The tournament will take place during April 2018 in Nicaragua and June 2018 in the United States. It will be the sixth U-17 age group competition organised by the CONCACAF.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship
The 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship was the 9th edition of the CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by CONCACAF for the women's under-20 national teams of the North, Central American and Caribbean region. The tournament was hosted by Trinidad and Tobago and took place between 18–28 January 2018, as announced by CONCACAF on 31 October 2017. A total of eight teams played in the tournament.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship
The top three teams of the tournament qualified for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in France as the CONCACAF representatives. The tournament also determined which three Caribbean nations participate in the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship
Mexico defeated defending champions United States in the final to win their first title.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, Qualification
Regional qualification tournaments were held to determine the teams playing in the final tournament.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, Venues
All matches of the tournament were played at Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, Draw
The draw of the tournament was held on 7 November 2017, 10:00 AST (UTC−4), at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad & Tobago in Port of Spain.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, Draw
The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams. Tournament hosts Trinidad and Tobago were seeded in position A1, while defending champions United States were seeded in position B1. The remaining six teams, including the two teams from the Caribbean Zone whose identity were not known at the time of the draw, were allocated to pots 2–4, and drawn to the remaining six positions.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, Squads
Players born on or after 1 January 1998 are eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team must register a squad of 20 players, two of whom must be goalkeepers.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advance to the semi-finals.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, Group stage
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, Knockout stage
In the semi-finals, if the match is level at the end of 90 minutes, no extra time is played and the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out. In the third place match and final, if the match is level at the end of 90 minutes, extra time is played, and if still tied after extra time, the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, Qualification for international tournaments, Qualified teams for FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
The following three teams from CONCACAF qualified for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, Qualification for international tournaments, Qualified teams for Central American and Caribbean Games
The competition was used to decide the three teams from the Caribbean Football Union which would qualify for the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games. As only three Caribbean teams participated in the final tournament, they all qualified:


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship qualification
The 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship qualification is a women's under-20 football competition which decides the participating teams of the 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship. A total of eight teams will play in the final tournament. Players born on or after 1 January 1998 are eligible to compete in the tournament.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship qualification, Teams
A total of 23 (out of 41) CONCACAF member national teams entered, with four automatic qualifiers, and the remaining 19 teams entering regional qualification tournaments.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship qualification, Central American Zone
In the Central American Zone, six UNCAF member national teams entered the qualifying competition, hosted by Nicaragua. In the group stage, the six teams were divided into two groups of three teams. The top two teams of each group advance to the classification stage, where the winners of one group play the runners-up of the other group, with the two winners qualifying for the final tournament as the UNCAF representatives.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship qualification, Central American Zone
The schedule of the qualifying competition was announced on 17 May 2017. All times local, UTC−6.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship qualification, Caribbean Zone
In the Caribbean Zone, 13 CFU member national teams entered the qualifying competition, consisting of two stages. Apart from Saint Kitts and Nevis, which received a bye as hosts of the final round, the remaining 12 teams entered the first round, and were drawn into three groups of four teams. The winners of each group advance to the final round to join Saint Kitts and Nevis, where they are placed into one group, with the top two teams qualifying for the final tournament as the CFU representatives together with Trinidad and Tobago who qualified automatically as hosts.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship qualification, Caribbean Zone
The draw of the qualifying competition was held on 5 June 2017, 10:00 UTC−4, at the CONCACAF headquarters in Miami Beach, Florida. Haiti, Bermuda, and Dominican Republic were automatically seeded in Groups A–C respectively as hosts of each first round group, while the remaining nine teams were seeded based on the results of the previous two editions of the qualifying competition.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship qualification, Caribbean Zone
All times local, UTC−4, except Group B which is UTC−3.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship squads
This is a list of the squads for the 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, which was held in Trinidad and Tobago between 18–28 January 2018. The 8 national teams involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of 20 players; only players in these squads were eligible to take part in the tournament.


2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship squads
Players marked (c) were named as captain for their national squad.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup
The 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup was the third edition of the CONIFA World Football Cup, an international football tournament for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA organised by CONIFA. The tournament was hosted by Barawa Football Association, with all games held in and around London. The tournament was sponsored by Irish bookmaker Paddy Power. After being a late entry to the tournament, Kárpátalja won their first title on 9 June 2018, defeating Northern Cyprus 3–2 on penalties in the final (0–0 after 90 minutes).


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup, Host selection
In June 2017, at the CONIFA meeting held during the 2017 CONIFA European Football Cup, it was announced that the Barawa Football Association had been selected to act as the host for the 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup. However, under CONIFA's criteria, the "host" is the CONIFA member that heads the organising committee for the tournament, which does not necessarily mean that it needs to be played in the host's territory. Barawa is located in Somalia, but the Barawa FA represents members of the Somali diaspora in England.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup, Venues
The first two CONIFA World Football Cup tournaments both featured no more than two venues each; the 2014 tournament featured all games played at the same stadium, while the 2016 edition had a stadium in each of two cities. The expansion from twelve to sixteen participants in 2018 saw a significant expansion in the number of venues used, with a total of ten selected in four separate towns and cities - of these, seven were located in Greater London itself, two were in the towns of Slough and Bracknell in Berkshire, and one in the borough of Thurrock in Essex.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup, Qualification
The process of qualification for the World Football Cup was originally laid out in a set of criteria published by CONIFA at its 2017 annual general meeting, which goes into the various ways by which teams can qualify. This was subsequently revised by CONIFA in June 2017.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup, Qualification
By the criteria set out, the qualification process began in January 2016, when Western Armenia played its first official game against the reserve team of the French club Olympique de Marseille. The first team to qualify automatically was Tamil Eelam, by winning the single match CONIFA Challenger Cup against the Romani people in March 2016. Following this, two further, multi-team competitions were awarded qualification status by CONIFA, the Hungary Heritage Cup, played between four CONIFA members representing the Hungarian diaspora, and the World Unity Cup, which was a tournament containing teams representing a number of displaced peoples. The winners of both of these tournaments were guaranteed qualification for the World Football Cup.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup, Qualification, Draw
In December 2017, the sixteen participating teams were seeded into four pots of four for the group stage draw, based on the ConIFA rankings. The draw for the group stage was  held on 6 January 2018 in Northern Cyprus.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup, Qualification, Withdrawals
In March 2018, ConIFA announced that, owing to financial difficulties, the Kiribati team had been forced to withdraw from the tournament, with their place taken by Tuvalu. In May 2018, it was announced that the Felvidék team had withdrawn, to be replaced by Kárpátalja.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup, Referees
ConIFA announced a total of 28 referees for the tournament, led by former Premier League official Mark Clattenburg. During the tournament, referees used a third card in addition to the red and yellow; the green card, introduced as a concept by the tournament sponsor Paddy Power, was issued to players either for dissent or diving; a player given a green card was required to be substituted immediately.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup, Final positions, Player awards
Three individual awards were handed out by ConIFA at the conclusion of the tournament:


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup, Final positions, Player awards
As winner of Young Player of the Tournament, Sami Boudia was offered a one-month residency at one of the Global Football Centre Of Excellence's academies.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup, Marketing, Tournament programme
A programme for the entire tournament was produced, with the bulk of the content produced by football writer Mat Guy and blogger Pat McGuinness, and produced by Programme Master. The tournament is also documented in detail in the book CONIFA: Football For The Forgotten by journalist James Hendicott, which centres around events in London and the history of the teams involved.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup, Marketing, Official anthem
The official anthem of the tournament is "Bring The House Down" by English duo Right Said Fred, which was released on 29 May 2018.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup, Controversies, Ellan Vannin withdrawal
Following the completion of the group stage, Ellan Vannin entered a protest regarding the fact that Barawa had been able to bring in a replacement player to their squad after the tournament had started, in apparent contravention of the tournament's rules. The addition of the player, Mohamed Bettamer, a former Libyan youth international, was permitted by ConIFA, who stated that this was a rule change, but who did not inform the other 15 teams in the competition, who had submitted their own squad lists according to the published pre-tournament rule book.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup, Controversies, Ellan Vannin withdrawal
Ellan Vannin launched an appeal against the Barawa team's fielding of an apparently ineligible player, which at an initial meeting of the tournament committee was upheld, before subsequently being overturned. As a result, Ellan Vannin withdrew from the remainder of the tournament, and Tibet, their opponents in the First Placement Round, were awarded a 3–0 victory. Their place in the remaining fixtures were taken by Chagos Islands. A meeting of ConIFA's Executive Committee made the decision to provisionally expel the Manx Independent Football Alliance from the organization on 7 June, subject to ratification at the Annual General Meeting in January 2019. They were reinstated in January.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup, Broadcasting rights
CONIFA provided live streaming through football streaming service Mycujoo and edited highlights provided by FC Video. Select games were also live streamed on the Paddy Power Facebook page.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup, Broadcasting rights
In Northern Cyprus the games were broadcast by EURO GENÇ TV.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup qualification
The 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup qualification was the process to decide a number of the teams that will play in the 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup. This is the second tournament to feature a qualification process, following on from the 2016 qualification. The first qualification match played was on 13 March 2016 between the Tamil Eelam team and the team representing the Romani people, with the first goal scored by Tamil Eelam's Panushanth Kulenthiran.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup qualification, Background
The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) was founded in June 2013, as an organisation to represent football associations that are not eligible or choose not to join FIFA. One year later, it held its first official tournament, the 2014 ConIFA World Football Cup, in Sweden, to which the twelve participating teams were invited. The success of this tournament led to the decision to make it a biannual competition, with continental tournaments taking place in between, the first of which was the 2015 ConIFA European Football Cup.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup qualification, Background
ConIFA published a set of qualification criteria for the World Football Cup ahead of its 2017 Annual General Meeting, setting out the various methods in which teams could qualify for the WFC. This was subsequently revised into an official version for publication in June 2017.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup qualification, Background
CONIFA is split into six continental zones, with the total number of places in the World Football Cup based on the number of CONIFA members from each zone. As of August 2021, the distribution of places for the WFC, dependent on the size of the final tournament, is:


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup qualification, Background
[ a]: There were no South American members of ConIFA at the time of the tournamentThe first qualifying process was undertaken for the 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup, which saw a series of friendly matches and tournaments, together with the 2015 ConIFA European Football Cup, designated as qualifiers for the 2016 WFC. However, this decision was taken at a late stage prior to the start of the European Football Cup tournament, only a year prior to the planned start of the 2016 WFC in Abkhazia.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup qualification, Background
As a consequence, for its 2018 WFC tournament, ConIFA began designating planned friendly matches as qualifiers from the beginning of 2016, allowing a greater time for those teams achieving qualification to plan for the tournament. The first of these was the ConIFA Challenger Cup, held in Remscheid on 12 and 13 March 2016.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup qualification, Qualification, ConIFA Challenger Cup
The ConIFA Challenger Cup was a two team competition held over two days. The two participants, Tamil Eelam and Romani people, each played a 45-minute match against a local select side from the town of Remscheid, where the tournament was being held, on the first day, before playing off against each other on the second.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup qualification, Qualification, Hungary Heritage Cup
The Hungary Heritage Cup was a four-team competition held at the beginning of August 2016 in Szarvas, celebrating the heritage of various members of the Hungarian diaspora. The four teams featured two current members of ConIFA, together with two other teams, with the winner qualifying for the World Football Cup.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup qualification, Qualification, World Unity Cup 2016
The World Unity Cup was planned as a four-team tournament held at the end of August 2016 in Sutton. The competition was organised jointly by three ConIFA members representing displaced peoples, with the winner qualifying for the World Football Cup.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup qualification, Qualification, World Unity Cup 2016
Subsequent to the announcement, both Darfur and Ellan Vannin withdrew, and the tournament was reorganized as a three-team event, with the Barawa team replacing them.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup qualification, Qualification, ConIFA European Football Cup 2017
The 2017 European Football Cup was announced in January 2017 with a total of eight teams due to take part. The winner of the competition was guaranteed a place at the World Football Cup.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup qualification, Qualification, Qualification points standing
The following is a list of games not part of sanctioned ConIFA tournaments for which teams have accrued qualifying points:


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup qualification, Qualification, Qualification points standing
:1. Teams that have already qualified no longer accrue qualification points


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup qualification, Qualification, Wild Card
In May 2017, CONIFA announced on its website that five of its members had completed the necessary process to be considered for the WFC Wild Card place by the deadline of 2 May 2017. The wild card spot was decided at the CONIFA Executive Committee meeting, held during the European Football Cup in Northern Cyprus. The five teams under consideration were:


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup qualification, Qualification, Wild Card
At the Executive Committee meeting, held in Northern Cyprus on 8 June 2017, Tibet were awarded the Wild Card place.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup squads
Below are the squads for the 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup squads
For the 2018 edition of the CONIFA World Football Cup, the tournament expanded to 16 teams. Preliminary squads were published by CONIFA on 1 May 2018, with the exceptions of Matabeleland and Kabylia, who delayed their squad announcements for political reasons. Felvidék failed to submit their squad by the deadline and left the tournament to be replaced by Kárpátalja. Final squads were published on 16 May 2018.


2018 CONIFA World Football Cup squads
The number of caps listed for each player does not include any matches played after the start of the 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup. The club listed is the club for which the player last played a competitive match prior to the tournament.


2018 COSAFA Cup
The 2018 COSAFA Cup was the 18th edition of the COSAFA Cup, an international football competition consisting of national teams of member nations of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA). In July 2017, it was reported that it would be hosted by Botswana in July 2018. However, in February 2018, COSAFA announced that South Africa would host the competition.


2018 COSAFA Cup, Draw
The draw took place at the South African Football Association headquarters in Johannesburg on 18 April.


2018 COSAFA Cup, Group stage, Tiebreakers
The ranking of each team in each group was determined as follows:


2018 COSAFA U-20 Cup
The 2018 COSAFA U-20 Cup was the 25th edition of the COSAFA U-20 Challenge Cup, an international youth competition open to national associations of the COSAFA region. It took place between 30 November and 13 December in Zambia.


2018 COSAFA U-20 Cup
The competition was open to players born on or after 1 January 1999.


2018 COSAFA U-20 Cup, Participants
Réunion were initially set to take part but withdrew after Réunionese Football League were unable to organise flights to Zambia. They were replaced on 2 November with Democratic Republic of the Congo.


2018 COSAFA U-20 Cup, Participants
Namibia withdrew on 30 November, leaving no time to find a replacement.


2018 COSAFA Under-17 Championship
The 2018 COSAFA Under-17 Championship is the 7th edition of the COSAFA U-17 Championship, an association football tournament organised by the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) involving teams from Southern Africa for players aged 17 and below.


2018 COSAFA Under-17 Championship
COSAFA announced that the COSAFA U-17 Championship hosted by Mauritius between 19–29 July 2018 would be the region's qualifying tournament for the 2019 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations  in Tanzania.


2018 COSAFA Under-17 Championship, Draw
The draw for the group stage was held on 31 May 2018.


2018 COSAFA Under-17 Championship, Venues
The tournament will be played at Port Louis (St. François Xavier Stadium) and Belle Vue Maurel (Anjalay Stadium).


2018 COSAFA Women's Championship
The 2018 COSAFA Women's Championship was an international football tournament for national teams organised by COSAFA, teams from Southern Africa. It took place from 12 to 22 September in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa.


2018 COSAFA Women's Championship, Participants
Twelve teams take part in the competition, 10 of the 14 COSAFA members and also Uganda and Cameroon as invited guest nations. The draw was held on 29 August.


2018 COSAFA Women's Championship, Group stage
The group stage is composed of three groups of four teams each. Group winners and the best runner-up amongst all groups advance to the semi-finals.


2018 COSAFA Women's Championship, Statistics, Goalscorers
There were 64 goals scored in 22 matches, for an average of 2.91 goals per match.


2018 COTIF Tournament
The 2018 L'Alcúdia International Football Tournament was a football competition that took place in July and August 2018. The 2018 edition was the third to feature only international youth teams. Previous editions have contained a mix of national selections and club selections.


2018 CPL–U Sports Draft
The 2018 CPL–U Sports Draft was the inaugural CPL–U Sports Draft, held on November 12, 2018 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Seven Canadian Premier League (CPL) teams selected 21 U Sports athletes in total. The results were announced on November 13.


2018 CPL–U Sports Draft, Format
A blind draw was used to determine the draft order for the first round. A "snake draft" was used, with the order reversing in the second round, and then reversing back in the third and final round. Clubs have a window of time in which they must submit their pick, and failure to do so results in a pass. There is a break between each round, as well as one timeout per club. However, timeouts can not be used in back-to-back picks.


2018 CPL–U Sports Draft, Format
The draft order for the first round was drawn as follows:


2018 CR Vasco da Gama season
The 2018 season is Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama's 120th complete calendar year in existence, the club's 103rd season in existence of football, and the club's 45th season playing in the Brasileirão Série A, the top flight of Brazilian football.


2018 CR Vasco da Gama season, Competitions
Times from 1 January to 17 February 2018 and from 4 November to 31 December 2018 are UTC–2, from 17 February 2018 to 3 November 2018 UTC–3.


2018 CR Vasco da Gama season, Competitions, Copa do Brasil
Vasco da Gama joined the competition in the round of 16.


2018 CR Vasco da Gama season, Competitions, Copa Libertadores
Vasco da Gama joined the competition in the second qualifying stage.


2018 CR Vasco da Gama season, Competitions, Copa Libertadores, Copa Libertadores squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 CR Vasco da Gama season, Competitions, Copa Sudamericana
Vasco da Gama joined the competition in the second qualifying stage.


2018 CR Vasco da Gama season, Statistics, Disciplinary record
Last updated: 18 December 2017Source: MatchesOrdered by ,  and  = Number of bookings;  = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card;  = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.


2018 CS Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy
The 2018 CS Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy was held from August 1, 2018 to August 5, 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand. It is part of the 2018–19 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.