MIAMI, Florida – The 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf League gets underway next Tuesday in what will be the start of the tournament’s sixth edition.

With the exception of 2019 SCL champions Deportivo Saprissa, all of the previous winners of the SCL will be competing in this year’s edition with the objective of making history by becoming the first two-time champion of the tournament: Olimpia (2017), Herediano (2018), Alajuelense (2020) and Comunicaciones (2021).

Honduran giants Olimpia will always be known as the winners of the inaugural edition in 2017 when they topped Costa Rican club Santos de Guapiles in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw on aggregate in the Final to lift the trophy.

Since then, the Catrachos have come up just shy in their quest for a second title. In 2019, a late second half second leg semifinal comeback from eventual champions Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica kept Olimpia from the Final. A year later in 2020, in the semifinal stage again, Costa Rica’s Alajuelense edged Olimpia in a penalty shootout on their way to the crown.

Since winning the 2018 title, the road has proven very difficult for Herediano of Costa Rica. In their title defense year in 2019, Herediano’s run came to an abrupt halt in the Round of 16 when they were eliminated by Waterhouse of Jamaica in a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw on aggregate. A year later in 2020, it was Real Esteli of Nicaragua who spoiled Herediano’s hopes with a 1-0 win in the Round of 16, which was the Ticos’ last appearance in the SCL until this season.

The closest any team has come to winning a second SCL was in 2020 when 2019 champions Saprissa reached the Final, where they faced long-time domestic rivals Alajuelense. In a rematch of the 2004 Concacaf Champions Cup Final, Alajuelense held off Saprissa 3-2 in a thriller, denying the Monstruo Morado their second SCL title.

Saprissa launched another attempt at a second SCL title in 2021, but were stopped in their tracks in the quarterfinals by red-hot Guatemalan club Comunicaciones, who advanced via the away goal tiebreaker after a 5-5 draw on aggregate.

After winning the 2020 SCL, Alajuelense made several notable signings prior to the start of the 2021 SCL campaign, including all-time SCL top scorer Johan Venegas (14 goals). They looked set to advance from their Round of 16 series against Guastatoya of Guatemala, only for Guastatoya to score two goals in the final 10 minutes of the second leg for a 3-3 draw on aggregate and a series win via the away goal tiebreaker.

The 2022 SCL represents an opportunity for Comunicaciones to not only etch their name into the Concacaf history books as the first two-time champion, but also as the first back-to-back champion. But if history is any indication, lifting an SCL trophy for a second time will be no easy feat.