Atlanta United returns to CONCACAF Champions League in 2021

By: The Associated Press Posted: Last Modified:

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ATLANTA - Despite a disappointing season, Atlanta United will play in the CONCACAF Champions League for a third straight year in 2021.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/12/2020 (2117 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ATLANTA – Despite a disappointing season, Atlanta United will play in the CONCACAF Champions League for a third straight year in 2021.

The CONCACAF Council has approved a request by the the United States Soccer Federation to award Atlanta a spot in the 16-team continental championship as the current holder of the U.S. Open Cup, the team announced Saturday.

United won the Cup in 2019, earning a spot in this year’s Champions League. The club was eliminated in the quarterfinals Wednesday by Mexico’s Club América.

FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2020, file photo, Velez Sarsfield coach Gabriel Heinze directs his players during a Copa Sudamericana soccer match against Aucas at the Gonzalo Pozo Ripalda stadium in Quito, Ecuador. Hoping to recreate the success of its first coach, Atlanta United hired Argentina's Gabriel Heinze on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020, to manage the Five Stripes, who endured a miserable season just two years after winning the MLS Cup championship. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2020, file photo, Velez Sarsfield coach Gabriel Heinze directs his players during a Copa Sudamericana soccer match against Aucas at the Gonzalo Pozo Ripalda stadium in Quito, Ecuador. Hoping to recreate the success of its first coach, Atlanta United hired Argentina's Gabriel Heinze on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020, to manage the Five Stripes, who endured a miserable season just two years after winning the MLS Cup championship. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa, File)

The U.S. Open tournament was cancelled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, so Atlanta United will take that spot again in the Champions League. They’ll be joined from Major League Soccer by MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew, Supporters Shield winner Philadelphia Union and the Portland Timbers, who claimed the MLS Is Back Tournament.

Atlanta United was also eliminated in the quarterfinals after earning its first Champions League spot in 2019 as winner of the MLS Cup. The only other club that will be returning to the tournament for the third straight year in 2021 is Costa Rica’s Saprissa.

United will be looking for a comeback season after slumping to 12th in the Eastern Conference and failing to make the playoffs for the first time in the franchise’s four years.

The club announced Argentina’s Gabriel Heinze as its new coach Friday.

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/apf-Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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