2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup
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.
The winner will qualify for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup.
Qualification
Twenty-seven teams qualified for the tournament, with five qualifying directly to the round of 16. The remaining 22 teams enter in round one.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, 2025 CONCACAF Caribbean Cup, and 2025 CONCACAF Central American Cup.
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.
Distribution
Twenty-seven teams qualified for the tournament.- North American Zone: 18 teams
- Central American Zone: 6 teams
- Caribbean Zone: 3 teams
- 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
- 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
| Competition | Team | Qualifying method | Previous best | |
| Caribbean Cup | Mount Pleasant | 2025 Caribbean Cup champions | 1st | Debut |
| Central American Cup | Alajuelense | 2025 Central American Cup champions | 29th | Champions |
| Leagues Cup | Seattle Sounders FC | 2025 Leagues Cup champions | 9th | Champions |
| Liga MX | Toluca | 2024–25 Liga MX Apertura or Clausura winners with the higher aggregate table points | 14th | Champions |
| Major League Soccer | Inter Miami CF | MLS Cup 2025 champions | 3rd | Semi-finals |
| Competition | Team | Qualifying method | Previous best | |
| Canadian Championship | Vancouver FC | 2025 Canadian Championship runners-up | 1st | Debut |
| Canadian Premier League | Atlético Ottawa | 2025 Canadian Premier League champions | 1st | Debut |
| Canadian Premier League | Forge FC | 2025 CPL Shield winners | 4th | Round of 16 |
| Caribbean Cup | O&M | 2025 Caribbean Cup finalists | 1st | Debut |
| Caribbean Cup | Defence Force | 2025 Caribbean Cup third place | 13th | Champions |
| Central American Cup | Xelajú | 2025 Central American Cup runners-up | 7th | Quarter-finals |
| Central American Cup | Real España | 2025 Central American Cup semi-finalists | 14th | Round One |
| Central American Cup | Olimpia | 2025 Central American Cup semi-finalists | 39th | Champions |
| Central American Cup | Cartaginés | 2025 Central American Cup play-in winners | 8th | Champions |
| Central American Cup | Sporting San Miguelito | 2025 Central American Cup play-in winners | 2nd | Group stage |
| Leagues Cup | LA Galaxy | 2025 Leagues Cup third place | 12th | Champions |
| Liga MX | América | 2024–25 Liga MX Apertura or Clausura winners with the lower aggregate table points | 17th | Champions |
| Liga MX | Monterrey | 2024–25 Liga MX Apertura runners-up | 13th | Champions |
| Liga MX | Cruz Azul | Next three best clubs in 2024–25 Liga MX aggregate table | 19th | Champions |
| Liga MX | UANL | Next three best clubs in 2024–25 Liga MX aggregate table | 13th | Champions |
| Liga MX | UNAM | Next three best clubs in 2024–25 Liga MX aggregate table | 13th | Champions |
| Major League Soccer | Philadelphia Union | 2025 Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield winners | 4th | Semi-finals |
| Major League Soccer | San Diego FC | 2025 Major League Soccer Western Conference regular season winners | 1st | Debut |
| Major League Soccer | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Next best clubs in the 2025 Supporters' Shield standings | 6th | Runners-up |
| Major League Soccer | FC Cincinnati | Next best clubs in the 2025 Supporters' Shield standings | 3rd | Round of 16 |
| Major League Soccer | Los Angeles FC | Next best clubs in the 2025 Supporters' Shield standings | 4th | Runners-up |
| U.S. Open Cup | Nashville SC | 2025 U.S. Open Cup winners | 2nd | Round of 16 |
Draw
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. Teams were seeded and placed in draw pots based on their CONCACAF club ranking as of 8 December 2025.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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