Next season’s CONCACAF Champions League to begin last week of July

The additional time was included to better accommodate five rounds of World Cup qualifying matches, confederation General Secretary Chuck Blazer said Thursday.

The second leg of the preliminary round will be staged the week of August 4 with the first round of the Group Stage set for two weeks later. The Group Stage will finish the week of October 20, a week earlier than this year.

The quarterfinals will commence with the first leg the week of March 9, 2010, and the second leg a week later. This season’s quarterfinals are set for the weeks of February 24 and March 3.

The first leg of the semifinals will be played March 30-April 1, 2010, with the return leg two weeks later. And the finals will be played in consecutive weeks beginning with the week of April 20. This season’s finals also will be played in the last two weeks of April.