Tough group for Central, Portmore

MIAMI, CMC - Two-time defending champions, Central FC, have been drawn in a tough Group D for the 2017 Caribbean Club Championship which kicks off next month.

The Trinidadian outfit will come up against the likes of Jamaican powerhouses Portmore United, Scholars International of Cayman Islands and SV Transvaal from Suriname.

The group will be hosted at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Port of Spain from March 6-13.

Central won last year's tournament when they beat fellow Trinidadian side W Connection in the final at the Stade Sylvio Cator in Port-au-Prince.

In 2015, Central also beat W Connection in the final at the Ato Boldon Stadium.

Montego Bay United will host Group C at the Montego Sports Complex in the western Jamaica tourist resort city, and will clash with Elite Sport Club of Cayman Islands, Grenades FC of Antigua and Barbuda and Club Barcelona Atletico of the Dominican Republic.

The group runs from February 27 to March 6.

Meanwhile, Antigua's Greenbay Hoppers will host Group A at the Antigua Recreation Ground from February 20-27 while Vincentian outfit System 3 Sport Academy will host Group E at Victoria Park in Kingstown.

A record 20 sides from 11 countries, divided into five groups, will contest the preliminary phase from February 20 to March 13.

The group winners will advance to the final round carded for May 13-21, with the top three sides qualifying for the upcoming edition of the 2017 CONCACAF Champions League.