Former top local and international football referee Neal Brizan will begin duties as one of Concacaf’s Referee Assessors when the Flow Concacaf Caribbean Club Championship (FCCCC) which kicked off in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic this weekend until May 25.
Brizan, 51, is one of the more prominent referees to have graduated from standing in local football and Caribbean competition to the Concacaf Gold Cup stage where he carried his whistle at four different editions in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011 Concacaf Gold Cup.
The reformatted FCCCC which includes the clubs that were due to compete in the 2021 Concacaf Caribbean Club Shield, but was called off due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The tournament featuring 15 clubs from 13 countries is a one-off two-round competition.
The teams in Group A are Universidad O&M FC (Dominican Republic), Flames United SC (Sint Maarten), Inter Moengo Tapoe (Suriname), and Metropolitan (Puerto Rico); Group B comprises Delfines del Este (Dominican Republic), SV Racing Club (Aruba), Platinum FC (St Lucia), and SV Real Rincon (Bonaire); Group C is made up of Don Bosco FC (Haiti), AS Samaritaine (Martinique), AS Gosier (Guadeloupe), and South East FC (Dominica), while the four clubs in Group D are Cavaly AS (Haiti), RKSV Scherpenheuvel (Curacao), and Olympique de Cayenne (French Guiana).
At the end of the group stage round-robin play on May 20, the top team in each group will qualify to the semi-finals on May 23, with the winners advancing to the competition’s final on May 25.
The group matches have been carded for the Felix Sanchez and Panamericano Stadiums, while the semi-finals and final will all be played at the Felix Sanchez.
Provided they fulfil the Concacaf Regional Club Licensing criteria required to participate in Confederation wide competitions, the champions will qualify for the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League while the second, third and fourth place finishers will qualify for the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf League.