There was no tournament in 2008 because, prior to this edition, the CFU Club Championship had been held near the end of the calendar year, but in 2008 it was decided that it would be held near the beginning of the following calendar year in order to have the competition take place closer to the next CONCACAF Champions League, which uses this tournament as the Caribbean zone qualifying tournament. As a result, this, the next tournament, was held in early 2009.
The draw for the first round was held at the CONCACAF office in New York City on January 15.[1][2] The first round matches were originally scheduled to be held over two legs on March 18 and 25. The draw for round two was completed immediately following the first round draw. The second round will also be two-legged and will be held in mid-April. The semi-finals, final and third-place match will be single-elimination matches hosted in Trinidad and Tobago. The semi-finals will be played on May 15, and the final and third-place match will be played two days later at the same venue.
Draw
The first round was played among clubs from two pots. Each club was drawn against another club from the opposing pot.[3]
The first round was contested in five two-legged matchups. Team #1 in each matchup hosted the first leg. The schedule for the first round legs was updated on March 11 due to necessary travel accommodations for clubs and local events occurring in Aruba and Haiti that would conflict with the original match schedule.[4]
San Juan Jabloteh were seeded and received a bye to the 2nd round.[1][2][3] San Juan Jabloteh and W Connection both hosted their first leg matchups on the same day and decided to host their matches as a billed doubleheader at Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella.[8] In Jabloteh's return leg to Suriname they were without head coachTerry Fenwick, who did not travel with the team because he had not been paid by the club since the end of the 2008 TT Pro League season.[9]
All of the matches in the final round will be played at Marvin Lee Stadium in Macoya, Trinidad and Tobago.[4] The final round matchups are single elimination; the losers will play one another in a third place matchup to determine the third and final CFU entrant into the CONCACAF Champions League 2009–10. The Puerto Rico Islanders were seeded and received a bye directly into the final round.[3]
^ abInter Moengotapoe could not host any matches at their home stadium in Moengo, Ronnie Brunswijkstadion, due to a ban on hosting any matches imposed by the Surinamese FA after riots occurred during a home league match.
