CONCACAF News & Notes, April 19, 2011

CCL finals to begin Wednesday in Monterrey

Real Salt Lake will look to become the first MLS team to win the CONCACAF Champions League, facing Monterrey in the finals which begin on Wednesday in Mexico.

The return leg will be played at Real Salt Lake’s Rio Tinto Stadium on April 27.

Monterrey would become the third Mexican team to win the title in the three-year existence of the tournament. Atlante won the inaugural crown in 2009 while Pachuca lifted the trophy last year.

The winner of the finals will represent CONCACAF at the 2011 Club World Cup in Japan.

Alpha United reaches semifinals of the CFU Club Championship

Alpha United scored three times after being given a man advantage in the 53rd minute and went on to a 3-2 victory over River Plate FC of Puerto Rico to become the first team to advance to the semifinals of the CFU Club Champions Cup.

Defence Force of Trinidad leads Milerock, another Guyana side, after a first-leg victory on April 10.

The second leg is set for April 29 in Couva, Trinidad, the first match of a double header that also will feature the first leg of the second-round series between Caledonia AIA and Tempete of Haiti.

The remaining second-round series has the defending champion Puerto Rico Islanders against Walking Boyz of Suriname, which will be played May 7 and May 14.

The semifinals and finals are set for the end of May, from which three teams will advance to next season’s CONCACAF Champions League.

Referees from CONCACAF selected for 2011 Women’s World Cup

Three center referees from CONCACAF will participate in the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany. Quetzalli Alvarado (Mexico), Carol-Anne Chenard (Canada) and Kari Seitz (USA) will represent region at the tournament

A total of six assistant referees from CONCACAF will also be present. They are Ivonne Ayala (El Salvador), Rita Munoz (Mexico), Marlene Duffy (USA), Mayte Chavez, Cindy Mohammed (Trinidad & Tobago) and Veronica Perez (USA). The tournament will be played from June 26 to July 17.

Canada U-17s to complete 10 day tour to prepare for World Cup

The Canadian Soccer Association announced on Friday that its men’s under-17 team will open a 10-day camp tomorrow in Mexico.

As part of the camp, Canada will face FIFA U-17 World Cup host Mexico in two friendly matches. The CONCACAF rivals are scheduled to meet on April 20 and April 24. Both games will be played at the Estadio Morelos in Morelia.

This will be Canada’s first camp since finishing as runner-up to the United States at the 2011 CONCACAF Men’s Under-17 Championship in Jamaica. At that tournament, the Canadians qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup for the first time since 1995. Mexico, which qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup as the host nation, did not participate in the CONCACAF competition.

Gulati, Hooper picked for FIFA Task Force 2014

U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati and former Canadian women’s international Charmaine Hooper have been selected as part of FIFA’s 22-member Task Force Football 2014.

The panel, chaired by former German World Cup hero Franz Beckenbauer, will convene initially May 10 at FIFA’s Zurich headquarters and will "look at proposals to improve the attractiveness of football and match control in elite competitions," FIFA said.

National association matches

3.25.2011: Panama City:

PANAMA – BOLIVIA 2:0

3.24.2011: Havana, Cuba:

CUBA – EL SALVADOR 0:2

3.25.2011: Seoul:

SOUTH KOREA- HONDURAS 4:0

3.25.2011: Montego Bay, Jamaica:

JAMAICA – VENEZUELA 0:2

3.26.2011: San Jose, Costa Rica:

COSTA RICA – CHINA 2:2

3.26.2011: Bassaterre, St. Kitts and Nevis:

ST. KITTS & NEVIS – GRENADA 0:0

3.26.2011: New York:

UNITED STATES – ARGENTINA 1:1

3.26.2011: Oakland:

MEXICO – PARAGUAY 3:1

3.26.2011: Havana, Cuba:

CUBA – PANAMA 0:2

3.27.2011: San Salvador, El Salvador:

EL SALVADOR – JAMAICA 2:3

3.28.2011: Mazatenango, Guatemala:

GUATEMALA – BOLIVIA 1:1

3.29.2011: San Jose, Costa Rica:

COSTA RICA – ARGENTINA 0:0

3.29.2011: Nashville:

UNITED STATES – PARAGUAY 0:1

3.29.2011: San Diego:

MEXICO – VENEZUELA 1:1

4.1.2011: St. Georges, Grenada:

GRENADA – ST. KITTS & NEVIS 0:0

5.22.2011: TBD:

CAYMAN ISLANDS – BELIZE

5.28.2011: Seattle:

MEXICO – ECUADOR

5.28.2011: Houston:

EL SALVADOR – HONDURAS