Tickets for 1st CONCACAF Champions League match in Austin go on sale Wednesday

AUSTIN (KXAN) — For the first time in franchise history, Austin FC will play in the CONCACAF Champions League in 2023, and your chance to get tickets for the first match at Q2 Stadium is on Wednesday.

By virtue of its finish in the Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield standings, Austin FC made the Champions League field and drew Haitian side Violette AC as its first opponent. The match in Austin is at 7 p.m., March 14, and will be the second leg of the Round of 16. The first leg of the match will be in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on March 7. The winner will be decided by the combined score of the two matches.

Tickets for the match in Austin will go on sale at 2 p.m. Wednesday. The CONCACAF Champions League is a tournament showcasing the top teams in North and Central America along with the Caribbean, similar to the UEFA Champions League, one of the most watched and followed professional club tournaments in the world.

Austin FC was the highest-finishing American team in the Supporters' Shield standings at the end of the 2022 season that hadn't already qualified for the tournament, finishing a point ahead of NYCFC for fourth place. Philadelphia qualified by winning the MLS Eastern Conference, LAFC won the Supporters Shield and Orlando City FC made the tournament after winning the US Open Cup. CF Montreal finished third in the shield standings, but four American MLS teams are guaranteed berths in the tournament, which led to Austin earning qualification.