The 2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League B was the second division of the 2023–24 edition of the CONCACAF Nations League, the third season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the 41 member associations of CONCACAF.[1] It was held from 7 September to 21 November 2023.[2][3]
Format
Unlike Leagues A and C, League B maintains the same format as in previous editions. League B consists of sixteen teams which were split into four groups of four teams. The teams competed in a home-and-away, round-robin format over the course of the group phase, with matches being played in the official FIFA match windows in September, October and November 2023. The first-placed team of each group will be promoted to the 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League A and the fourth-placed team of each group will be relegated to the 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League C.[1]
Teams
A total of sixteen national teams contest the League B, including twelve sides from the 2022–23 season and four promoted from the 2022–23 League C. As a result of the expansion to 16 teams in the League A, there were no teams relegated to the League C from the previous season, so the fourth placed team of each group from the 2022-23 season remained in the League B for this edition.
Team changes
The following were the team changes of League B from the 2022–23 season:
Nicaragua had originally qualified for promotion to League A as League B Group C winners, but they were disqualified for fielding an ineligible player. As a result, on 12 June 2023, they were replaced by Trinidad and Tobago in League A, and they were forced to stay in League B, replacing Trinidad and Tobago.[4]
The pots were confirmed on 2 May 2023, with the sixteen League B teams being split into four pots of four teams, based on the CONCACAF Rankings as of 31 March 2023.[5]
The groups draw was held on 16 May 2023, 19:00 EDT, in Miami, Florida, United States,[1][6] where the sixteen involved teams were drawn into four groups of four. The draw began by randomly selecting a team from Pot 1 and placing them in Group A and then selecting the remaining teams from Pot 1 and placling them into Groups B, C and D in sequential order. The draw continued with the same procedure done for the remaining pots.
† Trinidad and Tobago was later replaced by Nicaragua, which was relegated from the League A.[4]
Groups
The fixture list was confirmed by CONCACAF on 6 July 2023.[2][3] All match times are in EDT (UTC−4) for September and October matches and EST (UTC−5) for November matches, as listed by CONCACAF (local times, if different, are in parentheses).[8][9][10]
^The Saint Lucia v Guadeloupe match, originally scheduled at 17:00 EDT (UTC−4),[9] was re-scheduled to 20:00 EDT.[12]
^ a bThe order of matches between Dominican Republic and Montserrat were reversed from the original schedule.[8][17]
^Montserrat will play their home match against Nicaragua at the Wildey Turf stadium in Wildey (Barbados) due to flight issues.[18]
^The Barbados v Dominican Republic match, originally scheduled at 19:00 EDT (UTC−4),[9] was re-scheduled to 20:00 EDT.[19]
^ a bThe Dominican Republic v Barbados match, originally scheduled at Estadio Complejo Deportivo Moca 86 in Moca, 20:00 EDT (UTC−4),[9] was rescheduled at the Estadio Cibao FC in Santiago de los Caballeros, 22:00 EDT due to heavy rainfall in the city of Moca.[21]
^The Nicaragua v Dominican Republic match, originally scheduled on 20 November 2023,[3] was rescheduled to be played on 21 November 2023.[10]
^The Bermuda v French Guiana match, originally scheduled at 19:30 EDT (UTC−4),[8] was re-scheduled to 16:00 EDT.[23]
^The Belize v Saint Vincent and the Grenadines match, originally scheduled at 17:00 EDT (UTC−4),[8] was re-scheduled to 16:00 EDT.[23]
^Belize played their home match against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines at the Stade Pierre-Aliker in Fort-de-France (Martinique) following a joint decision of both the Football Federation of Belize (FFB) and the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation (SVGFF) to play on a neutral venue due to both federations expressed having "flight issues” in getting to their destination for their next matches on 12 September.[24][25]
^The French Guiana v Saint Vincent and the Grenadines match, originally scheduled on 17 October 2023, 15:00 EDT (UTC−4),[9] was re-scheduled to 16 October 2023, 19:00 EDT.
^The French Guiana v Saint Vincent and the Grenadines match, originally scheduled at Stade Municipal Dr. Edmard Lama, Remire-Montjoly was re-scheduled to be played at the Stade Pierre-Aliker in Fort-de-France (Martinique) due to the French Guiana's home stadium field did not meet CONCACAF requirements.[28][29]
^French Guiana will play their home match against Bermuda at the Stade Pierre-Aliker in Fort-de-France (Martinique) due to the field of their regular home stadium Stade Municipal Dr. Edmard Lama, Remire-Montjoly did not meet CONCACAF requirements.[30]
^Saint Vincent and the Grenadines will play their home match against Belize at the Kirani James Athletic Stadium in St. George's (Grenada).
^The Puerto Rico v Guyana match, originally scheduled at the Centro de Desarrollo de Fútbol del Oeste in Añasco,[9] was re-scheduled at the SKNFA Technical Center in Basseterre (Saint Kitts y Nevis) due to the Puerto Rico home stadiums were undergoing renovation.[32]
^The Guyana v Puerto Rico match, originally scheduled at the Synthetic Track and Field Facility in Leonora,[9] was re-scheduled at the SKNFA Technical Center in Basseterre (Saint Kitts y Nevis) due to the Guyana's stadiums did not meet CONCACAF requirements.[34][35]
^Referee Benjamín Pineda from Costa Rica, who was originally assigned to the Guyana v Puerto Rico match,[36] was replaced by the fourth official Sergio Rozenhout from Suriname.
References
^ a b c"CONCACAF announces formats for men's national team competitions for the 2023–2026 cycle". CONCACAF. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
^ a b"CONCACAF announces schedule for 2023/24 CONCACAF Nations League presented by Qatar Airways". CONCACAF. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
^ a b c"2023-24 CONCACAF Nations League Match Schedule" (PDF). CONCACAF. 29 June 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
^ a b"Concacaf Disciplinary Committee decision regarding Nicaragua and the Eligibility of Players". CONCACAF. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
^"CONCACAF confirms details for 2023/24 CONCACAF Nations League official draw". CONCACAF. 2 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
^Reidy, Paul (3 May 2023). "Concacaf Nations League 23/24 draw to be staged on 16 May". Diario AS. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
^"Draw delivers groups for 2023/24 CONCACAF Nations League presented by Qatar Airways". CONCACAF. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
^ a b c d"Concacaf confirms September schedule for 2023/24 Concacaf Nations League Group Stage matches". Miami: CONCACAF. 10 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
^ a b c d e f g"Concacaf confirms October schedule for 2023/24 Concacaf Nations League Group Stage matches". Miami: CONCACAF. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
^ a b"Concacaf confirms November schedule for 2023/24 Concacaf Nations League matches". Miami: CONCACAF. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
^"Sint Maarten 2-3 St. Kitts and Nevis (Oct 12, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
^CONCACAF [@CNationsLeague] (12 October 2023). "CNL action today!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^"St. Lucia 2-1 Guadeloupe (Oct 12, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
^"Guadeloupe 2-0 St. Lucia (Oct 15, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
^"St. Kitts and Nevis 0-0 St. Lucia (Nov 16, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
^"Sint Maarten 0-2 Guadeloupe (Nov 16, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
^"Tras cambio de sede por Concacaf RD jugará sus dos partidos de la Liga de Naciones en el Félix Sánchez" [After change of venue by Concacaf, DR to play its two Nations League games at the Félix Sánchez stadium] (in Spanish). Dominican Football Federation. 1 September 2023.
^Rocca, Pablo (10 October 2023). "Liga de Naciones 2023-24: el motivo por el que Nicaragua enfrentará a Montserrat en Barbados" [Nations League 2023-24: why Nicaragua will face Montserrat in Barbados] (in Spanish). Fútbol Centroamérica. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
^CONCACAF [@CNationsLeague] (13 October 2023). "Day 2 of action is set" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^"Barbados 0-5 Dominican Republic (Oct 13, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
^@sedofutbol (16 October 2023). "COMUNICADO OFICIAL" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 October 2023 – via Twitter.
^"Montserrat 2-1 Dominican Republic (Nov 17, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
^ a bCONCACAF [@CNationsLeague] (8 September 2023). "More action coming from the CNL!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^"Vincy Heat Confident Ahead Of Belize Clash" (in Spanish). The Vincentian. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
^"Vincy Heat play Belize today in Concacaf Nations League Qualifiers" (in Spanish). Search Light. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
^"St. Vincent and the Grenadines 1-4 French Guiana (Oct 13, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
^"Belize 0-1 Bermuda (Oct 13, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
^"Décision de la LFG sur le déplacement du match des Yana Doko en Martinique" [LFG decision to move Yana Doko match to Martinique] (in French). Ligue de football de la Guyane. 4 October 2023.
^"COMMUNIQUÉ DE LA LFG" (PDF) (in French). Cayenne: Ligue de football de la Guyane. 4 October 2023.
^"Concacaf – Yana Doko . Le match contre les Bermudes délocalisé en Martinique en novembre" [Concacaf - Yana Doko. The match against Bermuda relocated to Martinique in November] (in French). Ligue de football de la Guyane. 27 October 2023.
^"Puerto Rico Jugará en Bahamas su primer partido de Nations League" [Puerto Rico to play their first Nations League match in Bahamas] (in Spanish). Puerto Rican Football Federation. 10 August 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
^"Liga de Naciones. Puerto Rico vs. Guyana" (in Spanish). Puerto Rican Football Federation. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
^"Bahamas 1-4 Antigua and Barbuda (Oct 14, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
^Guyana Football Federation [@OfficialGFFInc] (10 October 2023). "Guyana vs Puerto Rico matches in Concacaf Nations League group stage relocated to St Kitts & Nevis" (Tweet). Retrieved 17 October 2023 – via Twitter.
^"Venue change for Guyana-Puerto Rico Nations League matches". Loop Caribbean News. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
^"2023/24 Concacaf Nations League Referee Appointments: October Matches" (in Spanish). CONCACAF. 9 October 2023.