2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 3 February – 30 May |
| Teams | 27 (from 10 associations) |
← 2025 2027 → | |
The 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup is the 61st season of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the premier club association football tournament for North, Central America, and the Caribbean organized by CONCACAF. It is a five-round knockout tournament, with 27 teams qualified based on their national and zonal league and cup competitions; the first four rounds are played as a two-legged series at the home stadiums of the respective teams, ending with a one-legged final.[1]
The winner will qualify for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup.[1]
Qualification
[edit | edit source]Twenty-seven teams qualified for the tournament, with five qualifying directly to the round of 16. The remaining 22 teams enter in round one.[1][2]
In addition to national league competitions in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, 12 of 27 berths were determined by international competitions, including the 2025 Leagues Cup (three), 2025 CONCACAF Caribbean Cup (three), and 2025 CONCACAF Central American Cup (six).[1]
Two Canadian Premier League teams qualified automatically, while the United States-only 2025 U.S. Open Cup knockout competition and Canada-only equivalent, the 2025 Canadian Championship, provided one berth each.
The winners of the three international competitions, along with the winner of MLS Cup 2025 and champion of the 2024–25 Liga MX season, received the five byes into the round of 16.[1]
File:Red pog.svg Whitecaps FC
File:Red pog.svg Vancouver FC
Monterrey teams
File:Red pog.svg Monterrey
File:Red pog.svg UANL
Mexico City teams
File:Red pog.svg América
File:Red pog.svg Cruz Azul
File:Red pog.svg UNAM
Los Angeles teams
File:Red pog.svg LA Galaxy
File:Red pog.svg Los Angeles FC
Costa Rica teams
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Error creating thumbnail: Cartaginés
File:Red pog.svg North American Zone Error creating thumbnail: Central American Zone File:Blue pog.svg Caribbean Zone
Distribution
[edit | edit source]Twenty-seven teams (from ten associations) qualified for the tournament.[1]
- North American Zone: 18 teams (from three associations)
- Central American Zone: 6 teams (from four associations)
- Caribbean Zone: 3 teams (from three associations)
Five teams received a bye into the round of 16.[1]
- The champion of the regional competitions for each of CONCACAF's constituent zones; North American, Central American, and Caribbean
- The champions of Liga MX of Mexico and Major League Soccer of the United States and Canada (Liga MX had a split Apertura and Clausura system, so the champion team with the higher aggregate points took this place. If a team won both Apertura and Clausura, they took this place.)
The remaining 22 teams enter in round one.[1]
- The runners-up and third-place team from the MLS–Liga MX Leagues Cup
- The runners-up and third-place team from the Caribbean Cup
- The runners-up, remaining semi-finalists, and two play-in winners from the Central American Cup
- The U.S. Open Cup winners
- The Canadian Championship winners
- The Canadian Premier League regular season winners and playoff champions
- The remaining winner with the worse record, two runners-up, and the two best next clubs by season aggregate from Liga MX
- The MLS Supporters' Shield winners
- The remaining MLS Conference regular-season leader, and the next two teams in the Supporters' Shield table
Teams
[edit | edit source]The following table includes the number of appearances, last appearance, and previous best from the CONCACAF Champions Cup tournament.
| Competition | Team | Qualifying method | App. (last) | Previous best (last) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caribbean Cup | Jamaica Mount Pleasant | 2025 Caribbean Cup champions | 1st | Debut |
| Central American Cup | Costa Rica Alajuelense | 2025 Central American Cup champions | 29th (2025) | Champions (2004) |
| Leagues Cup | United States Seattle Sounders FC | 2025 Leagues Cup champions | 9th (2025) | Champions (2022) |
| Liga MX | Mexico Toluca | 2024–25 Liga MX Apertura or Clausura winners with the higher aggregate table points | 14th (2024) | Champions (2003) |
| Major League Soccer | United States Inter Miami CF | MLS Cup 2025 champions | 3rd (2025) | Semi-finals (2025) |
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- ^ Canada (CAN): Vancouver FC qualified as runners-up because champions Vancouver Whitecaps FC already qualified through MLS standings.
- ^
- ^ Major League Soccer (MLS): Los Angeles FC, the next highest-ranked club in 2025 MLS Supporters' Shield not already qualified, have qualified for round one in order to fill the vacancy left by both MLS Cup finalists.[2]
Draw
[edit | edit source]The draw for the tournament took place on 9 December 2025 in Miami. The ceremony was streamed on CONCACAF's YouTube channel and broadcast live on Fox Sports in the United States and Mexico and ESPN in most of the Americas.[3] Teams were seeded and placed in draw pots based on their CONCACAF club ranking as of 8 December 2025.[4]
The champions of CONCACAF's three regional cup competitions, as well as the Liga MX winners with the most accumulated points and the MLS Cup winners, received a bye to the round of 16. The three remaining highest-ranked clubs were pre-seeded into a round one bracket position.
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Schedule
[edit | edit source]The competition schedule is as follows.[1]
| Round | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|
| Round one | 3–4 and 17–19 February | 10–12 and 24–26 February |
| Round of 16 | 10–12 March | 17–19 March |
| Quarter-finals | 7–9 April | 14–16 April |
| Semi-finals | 28–30 April | 5–7 May |
| Final | 30 May | |
Bracket
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Round one
[edit | edit source]Summary
[edit | edit source]Round one will be played during four weekly windows: on 3–4 February; 10–12 February; 17–19 February; and 24–26 February.[5]
Matches
[edit | edit source]All times are local.
References
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