Concacaf's official draw for the Concacaf Champions Cup is set for Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025 at 4 p.m. PT in Miami, Florida, and will be broadcast worldwide on the confederation's YouTube channel and FS2 in the United States. 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 LA Galaxy will participate in Round One of the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup, playing two legs (one at home, and one away) against an opponent in two of these windows: Round One Week 1: February 3–5, 2026 Round One Week 2: February 10–12, 2026 Round One Week 3: February 17–19, 2026 Round One Week 4: February 24–26, 2026.
In 2025, the LA Galaxy earned a bye to the Round of 16 as MLS Cup champions, facing C.D. Herediano (Costa Rica) before advancing to the Quarterfinals, where the Galaxy were eliminated by Tigres UANL 3-2 on aggregate. The Galaxy won their one (1) CCC title in 2000. Since then, just one other MLS club has won the tournament, with the Seattle Sounders taking the title in 2022.
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 - LD Alajuelense
- 2025 Concacaf Caribbean Cup champion - Mount Pleasant FC
- 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 – Inter Miami CF
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 best-ranked clubs): Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Los Angeles FC, CF Monterrey, Philadelphia Union, FC Cincinnati, LA Galaxy, Nashville SC, Pumas UNAM
- Pot 2 (11 lowest-ranked clubs): San Diego FC, Club Olimpia Deportivo, Forge FC, Atlético Ottawa, CS Cartaginés, CSD Xelajú M.C., Sporting San Miguelito, Real CD España, Defence Force FC, Vancouver FC, O&M FC
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.
Tournament Schedule
Round One Week 1: February 3–5, 2026
Round One Week 2: February 10–12, 2026
Round One Week 3: February 17–19, 2026
Round One Week 4: February 24–26, 2026
Round of 16 First Legs: March 10–12, 2026
Round of 16 Second Legs: March 17–19, 2026
Quarterfinals First Legs: April 7–9, 2026
Quarterfinals Second Legs: April 14–16, 2026
Semifinals First Legs: April 28–30, 2026
Semifinals Second Legs: May 5–7, 2026
Final: Saturday, May 30, 2026
PARTICIPATING CLUBS
How Clubs Qualify
Clubs qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup via the Leagues Cup (USA and Mexico), Concacaf Central American Cup, and Concacaf Caribbean Cup, as well as domestic leagues and cups in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Qualifying Competitions and Slots
Canadian Championship (1 slot)
- 2025 Canadian Championship runner-up* - Vancouver FC
*Slot originally allotted for the winner of the competition (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), but has been deferred to the runner-up as the Whitecaps also secured their place via an MLS berth
Caribbean Cup (3 slots)
- 2025 Concacaf Caribbean Cup Champion - Mount Pleasant FC
- 2025 Concacaf Caribbean Cup runner-up - O&M FC
- 2025 Concacaf Caribbean third place - Defence Force
*Receives a bye to the Round of 16
Central American Cup (6 slots)
- 2025 Concacaf Central American Cup Champion - LD Alajuelense
- 2025 Concacaf Central American Cup semifinals - Real CD España
- 2025 Concacaf Central American Cup semifinals - Club Xelajú
- 2025 Concacaf Central American Cup semifinals - Club Olimpia
- 2025 Concacaf Central American Cup play-in winner - CS Cartaginés
- 2025 Concacaf Central American Cup play-in winner - Sporting San Miguelito
Canadian Premier League (2 slots)
- 2025 Canadian Premier League Shield winner - Forge FC
- 2025 Canadian Premier League winner - Atlético Ottawa
Leagues Cup (3 slots)
- 2025 Leagues Cup winner* – Seattle Sounders FC
- 2025 Leagues Cup runner-up – Inter Miami CF
- 2025 Leagues Cup third place – LA Galaxy
*Receives a bye to the Round of 16
Liga MX (6 slots)
- 2024 Liga MX Apertura winner – Club América
- 2024 Liga MX Apertura runner-up – CF Monterrey
- 2025 Liga MX Clausura winner and highest-ranked champion* – Deportivo Toluca FC
- 2024–25 Liga MX best club in overall standings – Cruz Azul
- 2024–25 Liga MX next best club in overall standings – Tigres UANL
- 2024–25 Liga MX next best club in overall standings – Pumas UNAM
*Receives a bye to the Round of 16
MLS (5 slots)*
- 2025 MLS Cup winner* - Inter Miami CF
- 2025 MLS Supporters' Shield winner - Philadelphia Union
- 2025 MLS Eastern or Western Conference regular season winner - San Diego FC
- 2025 MLS Supporters' Shield next best club - FC Cincinnati
- 2025 MLS Supporters' Shield next best club - Vancouver Whitecaps FC
- 2025 MLS Supporters' Shield next best club** - LAFC
MLS Cup champion will receive a bye to the Round of 16*
Slot originally allotted for the MLS Cup Champion Inter Miami CF, but has been deferred to the next-best club in the 2025 Supporters' Shield standings as both clubs have already clinched their berths**
U.S. Open Cup (1 slot)
- 2025 U.S. Open Cup champion - Nashville SC
QUALIFICATION FOR THE FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP AND FIFA INTERCONTINENTAL CUP
FIFA Club World Cup
The winner of the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup will qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup 2029 as one of four representatives from the region. The winners from 2025 (Cruz Azul), 2027, and 2028 will also participate in the quadrennial global event.
FIFA Intercontinental Cup
The winner of the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup also qualifies for the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup. Comprised of the six FIFA confederation champions, the annual tournament will likely take place in December 2026.
