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The 2021 Flow CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship kicks off on Saturday in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with 15 teams in search of the title and a place in the 2022 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League.
Group A
Four teams will do battle in Group A: O&M FC of the Dominican Republic, Flames United SC of Sint Maarten, Inter Moengo Tapoe of Suriname and Metropolitan of Puerto Rico.
Inter Moengo Tapoe are well acquainted with CONCACAF competition. After appearing in nine previous editions of the CFU Club Championship, the Suriname club reached the Final of the 2018 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, narrowly losing 2-1 to Club Franciscain of Martinique.
Flames United SC also have some international competition under their belts. The club participated in the 2017 CFU Club Championship and now will try to make strides in the 2021 FCCCC.
O&M FC will be looking to become the third different Dominican Republic side to qualify for the SCCL, following in the footsteps of Cibao FC and Atletico Pantoja.
O&M have their fair share of weapons, including Dominican Republic National Team FW Domingo Peralta and MF Wilman Modesta.
Rounding out the group is Metropolitan, who were Liga Puerto Rico champions in 2018-19 and boast a familiar name in CONCACAF in FW Hector Ramos.
The 31-year-old has appeared in 11 SCCL matches in his career, three as a member of the Puerto Rico Islanders and eight with Isidro Metapan of El Salvador.
Ramos also featured in five Scotiabank CONCACAF League matches with Alianza of El Salvador and has four career SCCL goals.
Group B
The action in Group B promises to be intense when play kicks off on Saturday in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Delfines del Este of the Dominican Republic, Real Rincon of Bonaire, Racing Club of Aruba and Platinum FC of Saint Lucia will be vying for top spot in the group and a berth in the knockout stage.
Delfines del Este are appearing in their first FCCCC and while they may lack international tournament experience, they certainly have quality in the squad, including the likes of Dominican Republic National Team MF Carlos Heredia.
Real Rincon are no strangers to CONCACAF competition. The Bonaire side reached the semifinals of the 2018 Caribbean Club Shield and finished the tournament in Third Place. The 11-time Bonaire League winners will have their sights on another deep run in 2021.
Racing Club of Aruba are returning to CONCACAF competition for the first time since the 2007 CFU Club Championship and will be relying on a core of players who help make up the Aruba National Team, such as MF Erik Santos de Gouveia, MF Walter Bennett and FW Ronald Gomez.
Rounding out the group is a Platinum FC side that will be making their debut in CONCACAF competition after winning the 2018 and 2019 Saint Lucia Premier Division.
Group C
Haitian club Don Bosco will hope that Group C is the start of something special when play begins this Sunday in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Don Bosco is the only team in the 2021 FCCCC that previous qualified for the SCCL after reaching the 2016-17 edition thanks to their third-place finish in the 2016 CFU Club Championship.
Now the Haitian club will have their sights set on a second SCCL berth, but it won’t be an easy time navigating their way out of a difficult group that also includes AS Samaritaine of Martinique, AS Gosier of Guadeloupe and South East FC of Dominica.
Winners of the 2019-20 Martinique Championnat National and appearing in their first FCCCC, Samaritaine boast one of the best defenders in the FCCCC in Karl Vitulin, who has nearly 50 caps with the Martinique National Team.
Meanwhile, Gosier will also be looking to make waves in their first ever FCCCC after claiming top honors in the Guadeloupe Championnat National under the guidance of Head Coach Michael Germain.
Rounding out the group is South East FC, who will be making their third appearance in CONCACAF competition and their first since 2007.
South East first appeared in CONCACAF competition in the 2005 CFU Club Championship. Two years later in the 2007 CFU Club Championship, South East earned their first ever point in CONCACAF competition when they drew 1-1 with Racing Club Aruba.
Dominica National Team MF Javid George will be one of the ones to watch for South East.
Group D
Group D stands to be wide open when the action kicks off this Sunday in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Haiti’s AS Cavaly will be aiming for a first-place finish in the group and will be relying on the goal-scoring boots of 38-year-old FW Andre Amy (picture), who is the third leading all-time scorer in Haiti’s Ligue Haitienne with 103 goals.
Cavaly’s previous appearance in CONCACAF competition came in the 2009 CFU Club Championship.
Joining Cavaly in the group are RKSV Scherpenheuvel of Curacao, Olympique Cayenne of French Guiana and Hope International FC of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
As winners of the 2019-20 Curacao Prome Divishon, Scherpenheuvel are back in a CONCACAF tournament for the first time since the 1968 CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Olympique Cayenne are coming off a first-place finish in the 2019-20 French Guiana Honor Division after tying for the most goals scored, while defensively allowing the fewest goals during the 15 matches.
Not only is the 2021 FCCCC the first time that Olympique Cayenne have participated in a CONCACAF tournament, but it is the first time that a club from French Guiana have appeared in CONCACAF competition.
Hope International will try to make the most of their firepower in their FCCCC debut. The club finished first in the 2019-20 SVGFF Premier Division with an impressive 61 goals scored in 22 games and just 30 conceded.
