Seattle Sounders FC will face CD Marathon of Honduras and the Caribbean champion in the Group Stage of the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League.
RENTON, WASH. – Seattle Sounders FC will face CD Marathon of Honduras and the Caribbean champion in the Group Stage of the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League. The groups were determined by a draw held Tuesday at the CONCACAF offices in New York.
The dates and kickoff times for the Group Stage will be announced later.
The six-round Group Stage will begin on July 31 and conclude on October 25. Seattle is in group four. The winner of each group will advance to the knockout round.
The Group Stage will consist of eight groups of three teams each. The eight group winners will advance to the quarterfinal round where the quarterfinalists will be ranked 1-8 based on their results from the Group Stage and paired accordingly.
Seattle faced Marathon in the 2010-11 Champions League, winning 2-0 at home and losing 2-1 on the road.
The Caribbean championship will conclude on June 21. Four teams remain in the Caribbean Club Champions Cup, the Puerto Rico Islanders, Antigua Barracuda FC and W Connection and Caledonia AIA of Trinidad, from which three will qualify for the Champions League. The winner of the cup will enter group four.
Sounders FC has participated in the Champions League the past two years, and advanced to the quarterfinals in the 2011-12 tournament.
The CONCACAF Champions League is open to the leading teams from federations throughout North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
