MIAMI, Florida – This Wednesday the Draw for the fifth 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf League will be held in which 22 teams from across the Central American and Caribbean regions will learn their Preliminary Round and Round of 16 fate.

The tournament that begins on August 3 will see five teams make their debut, while at the other end of the spectrum four teams will be making their fourth appearance in the SCL, tops among all clubs.

Two of those clubs hail from Honduras and each will be starting in the Round of 16, including giants CD Olimpia after claiming the 2020 Apertura and 2021 Clausura titles in Honduran football.

Olimpia claimed the inaugural crown in 2017 when they edged Santos de Guapiles in a dramatic penalty shootout to win the title.

After a one-year absence in 2018, Olimpia made a return to the SCL in 2019 with a spirited run to the semifinals in which they were narrowly eliminated by Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa.

A year later another deep run in the tournament saw Olimpia defeated 5-4 in a penalty shootout by eventual champions Alajuelense of Costa Rica, although Olimpia did defeat historic rivals Motagua 2-0 in the quarterfinals to clinch a berth in the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League.

Motagua will also be featuring in the SCL for the fourth time as the non-champion from Honduran football with the best aggregate record during the 2020-21 season. It will be their fourth consecutive appearance in the SCL and no team has played more SCL matches than Motagua (20).

The club came achingly close to winning the title in both 2018 and 2019 when they reached the Final. In 2018, a late goal earned a 3-2 aggregate win for Costa Rica’s Herediano against Motagua in the Final, followed a year later by a 1-0 win for Saprissa in the Final.

While their 2020 SCL run did not see them go to the Final, it still ended in dramatic fashion, falling 2-0 to long-time domestic rivals Olimpia in the quarterfinals.

Only one team from El Salvador can say that it has qualified for the SCL on four different occasions and it is no surprise to see that it is Alianza. The Albos will also start in the Round of 16 by virtue of being the Salvadoran champion (2020 Apertura) with the best aggregate record during the 2020-21 season.

For Alianza, the biggest hurdle in their three previous appearances has been Honduras’ top clubs. In 2017, Alianza were eliminated 3-2 on a last-second goal in the quarterfinals by eventual champions Olimpia.
In 2019, they were eliminated 4-1 in the semifinals by eventual runner-up Motagua. A year later in 2020, it was nearly the same story, with Motagua eliminating Alianza in a penalty shootout 4-3 in the Round of 16.

Rounding out the teams with the most SCL experience is Nicaragua’s Real Esteli, who will also be starting in the Round of 16 as the Nicaraguan champion (2020 Apertura) with the best aggregate record during the 2020-21 season.

Real Esteli’s first two appearances ended in heartbreak. First, in 2017, they were eliminated in a penalty shootout by El Salvador’s Aguila in the Round of 16. Two years later in 2019, the away goal tiebreaker resulted in a 2-2 defeat to Santa Tecla of El Salvador in the Preliminary Round.

The 2020 SCL was different story, however. Kicking things off in Round of 16, Real Esteli achieved one of the greatest results in club history by defeating 2018 SCL champions Herediano of Costa Rica, 1-0.

They were left disappointed by a narrow 2-1 defeat to eventual champions Alajuelense in the quarterfinals, however they overcame adversity in the Play-In Round and defeated Motagua 4-2 in a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw to punch their ticket to the 2021 SCCL.