Starting in the Summer of 2017, the CONCACAF Champions League will contain 31 teams in a new format of dual tournaments. The first tournament will be contested between 16 clubs from the Caribbean and Central America. That winner will enter the second phase of the new CCL in 2018 competing against MLS, Liga MX and a selection of other CONCACAF clubs in a straight knockout tournament starting in February 2018 and ending in May of that year. That winner would qualify for the Club World Cup in December.
In short, CONCACAF has eliminated the group stage while containing the tournament in a much smaller time frame and adding a round that could pit MLS and Liga MX teams against one another.