- Vancouver Whitecaps FC currently 6th in Concacaf Club Ranking
- Official draw set for Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025
- Draw determines the path of each club to the Final on Saturday, May 30, 2026
- Fans can follow the live event on Concacaf’s YouTube channel starting at 4 p.m. PT
- 25 clubs have already qualified for the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup, only two slots remain available
Miami, FL (Monday, November 10, 2025) – Concacaf has announced the procedures that will govern the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup draw. The draw will determine the tournament’s bracket, setting the stage for the exciting matchups that will shape each participating club’s path to the Final.
The made-for-TV live event, hosted from Miami, FL, will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, and will be widely available for fans around the world through Concacaf’s YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/concacaf) and the Confederation’s TV partner networks.
The 2026 edition of the Concacaf Champions Cup – the 61st in the tournament’s history – has already seen some of the region's top teams secure their places. Notably, the field already features Mexican powerhouses Club América and CF Monterrey, as well as reigning Champions Cup title holders Cruz Azul; Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami CF and newcomers San Diego FC from Major League Soccer; Costa Rican standouts LD Alajuelense and CS Cartaginés, and Honduran giants Club Olimpia from Central America; and Caribbean representatives Mount Pleasant FA of Jamaica and O&M FC of the Dominican Republic, among others.
The Concacaf Champions Cup continues to be played in a direct elimination knockout stage format, composed of five rounds: Round One, Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Final. The first four stages each include home and away play, while the Final, where the region’s Champion will be crowned, is played as a single-leg match. Of the 27 clubs that will participate, 22 begin play in Round One and five receive a bye to the Round of 16.
Round One will begin in early February, followed by the Round of 16 in March, the Quarterfinals in April, the Semifinals spanning April and May, and the Final on Saturday, May 30.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE DRAW
Fans worldwide will be able to follow and enjoy the live event on Concacaf’s YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/concacaf) and through the Confederation's TV partner networks in the region.
Fans can also follow updates on the competition’s official social media platforms, including X (@TheChampions), Facebook (facebook.com/TheChampions), Instagram (@TheChampions) and TikTok (@Concachampions).
COMPETITION BRACKET AND DRAW PROCEDURES
Based on the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup regulations, qualification criteria, and the Concacaf Club Rankings as of Dec. 8, 2025, each of the 27 participating clubs will be pre-seeded into a bracket position or placed in a Pot.
Round of 16
Five clubs have received a bye to the Round of 16 and will be pre-seeded into a bracket position, rewarding their sporting merit as champions of the following competitions:
- 2025 Concacaf Central American Cup champion - TBD
- 2025 Concacaf Caribbean Cup champion - TBD
- 2025 Leagues Cup champion - Seattle Sounders FC (USA)
- 2024/25 Liga MX champion with the most accumulated points - Deportivo Toluca FC (MEX)
- 2025 MLS Cup champion – TBD
These five clubs will be positioned in a Round of 16 bracket position based on the Concacaf Club Rankings as of Dec. 8, 2025, as follows:
- Highest-ranked club - Matchup 1
- Second highest-ranked club - Matchup 5
- Third highest-ranked club - Matchup 8
- Fourth highest-ranked club - Matchup 4
- Fifth highest-ranked club - Matchup 2
Round One
For Round One, which includes the participation of 22 clubs, the three highest-ranked clubs will be pre-seeded into a Round One bracket position, and the remaining 19 clubs will be distributed into the two "Club Pots." The three highest-ranked clubs will be seeded to reward their competitive merit and strength, ensuring that they cannot face any club that received a bye to the Champions Cup Round of 16 until later rounds in the competition.
The three highest-ranked Round One clubs, based on the Concacaf Club Rankings as of Dec. 8, 2025, will be pre-seeded into a matchup as follows:
- Highest-ranked Round One club - Position A3
- Second highest-ranked Round One club - Position A9
- Third highest-ranked Round One club - Position A7
The 19 remaining clubs that will begin play in Round One will be divided into the two "Club Pots” as follows:
- Pot 1: 8 next best-ranked clubs
- Pot 2: 11 lowest-ranked clubs
The 19 available Round One bracket positions will be divided into the two "Position Pots” as follows:
- Pot A: A1, A2, A4, A5, A6, A8, A10, and A11
- Pot B: B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, B8, B9, B10, and B11
Procedures
The official draw will begin by confirming the bracket positions for the eight pre-seeded clubs (three in Round One and five in Round of 16). Once confirmed, the draw will start by randomly drawing a sphere from Pot 1, followed by a Round One bracket position sphere from Pot A. This process will be repeated for the remaining seven spheres in Pot 1, always using the available bracket positions in Pot A.
After all Pot 1 clubs have been drawn and assigned a bracket position, the draw for clubs in Pot 2 will begin, following the same procedure using Pot 2 and Pot B. Once all clubs have been assigned a bracket position, the draw will conclude.
PARTICIPATING TEAMS
Thus far, 25 clubs have secured a berth in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup via three regional cups in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, as well as domestic leagues and cups for Canada, México, and the United States. These clubs are (in alphabetical order by tournament):
- Canadian Championship (1): Vancouver FC (CAN)
- Canadian Premier League (2): Forge FC (CAN) and Atlético Ottawa (CAN)
- Concacaf Caribbean Cup (2): Mount Pleasant FA (JAM) and O&M FC (DOM)
- Concacaf Central American Cup (6): Club Olimpia (HON), Club Xelajú (GUA), CS Cartaginés (CRC), LD Alajuelense (CRC), Real CD España (HON) and Sporting San Miguelito (PAN)
- Leagues Cup (3): Inter Miami CF (USA), LA Galaxy (USA) and Seattle Sounders FC (USA)
- Liga MX (6): CF Monterrey (MEX), Club América (MEX), Cruz Azul (MEX), Deportivo Toluca FC (MEX), Pumas UNAM (MEX) and Tigres UANL (MEX)
- MLS (4): FC Cincinnati (USA), Philadelphia Union (USA), San Diego FC (USA) and Vancouver Whitecaps FC (CAN)
- US Open Cup (1): Nashville SC (USA)
The remaining two participating clubs, which include one Caribbean club (2025 Concacaf Caribbean Cup third-place finisher), and one MLS club (2025 MLS Cup champion), will be confirmed before the official draw.
For more details on how each club has qualified, click here.
