Concacaf Announces 2026 Champions Cup Official Draw Pots and Procedures | OneFootball

Miami, FL – Ahead of the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup Draw – set this Tuesday, Dec. 9 – Concacaf has confirmed the official draw pots and procedures for the event. With the 27 participating clubs now finalized, the eight clubs that will be pre-seeded in the first two rounds of the competition, as well as the distribution of the other 19 clubs across the two pots, have been confirmed.

The made-for-tv draw event, live from Miami, Florida, will be hosted by a trio of anchors: Vanessa Huppenkothen, Alexi Lalas, and Mariah Ramharack. Concacaf President and FIFA Vice President Victor Montagliani will also participate, while former standout professional players Brad Guzan and Pavel Pardo will serve as draw assistants. 

Fans worldwide can follow and enjoy the live draw on 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 – will feature some of the region's top teams. Notably, the field will include Mexican powerhouses Club América and CF Monterrey, as well as reigning Champions Cup title holders Cruz Azul; Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami CF – the recently crowned MLS Cup champions – and newcomers San Diego FC from Major League Soccer; Costa Rican standouts LD Alajuelense and CS Cartaginés, and Honduran giants Club Olimpia Deportivo 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.

PARTICIPATING TEAMS

The 27 participating clubs have qualified 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, per tournament (further details are available here): 

Canadian Championship (1 slot): Vancouver FC (CAN)

Caribbean Cup (3 slots): Defence Force FC (TRI), O&M FC (DOM), Mount Pleasant FA (JAM)

Central American Cup (6 slots): Club Olimpia Deportivo (HON), CSD Xelajú M.C. (GUA), CS Cartaginés (CRC), LD Alajuelense (CRC), Real CD España (HON), Sporting San Miguelito (PAN)

Canadian Premier League (2 slots): Atlético Ottawa (CAN), Forge FC (CAN)

Leagues Cup (2 slots): LA Galaxy (USA), Seattle Sounders FC (USA)

Liga MX (6 slots): CF Monterrey (MEX), Club América (MEX), Cruz Azul (MEX), Deportivo Toluca FC (MEX), Pumas UNAM (MEX), Tigres UANL (MEX)

MLS (6 slots): FC Cincinnati (USA), Inter Miami CF (USA), Los Angeles FC (USA), Philadelphia Union (USA), San Diego FC (USA), Vancouver Whitecaps FC (CAN)

U.S. Open Cup (1 slot): Nashville SC (USA)

COMPETITION BRACKET

As previously announced, 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

The champions of Concacaf’s three regional cup competitions, LD Alajuelense, Mount Pleasant FA, and Seattle Sounders FC, as well as Deportivo Toluca FC, the Liga MX Champion with the most accumulated points, and Inter Miami CF, the MLS Cup Champion, have received a bye to the Round of 16, rewarding their sporting merit.

These five clubs will also be pre-seeded into a Round of 16 bracket position based on the Concacaf Club Rankings, as follows:

Round One

For Round One, the three highest-ranked clubs – Cruz Azul, Tigres UANL, and Club América – 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 pre-seeded to reward their competitive merit and strength into a Round One matchup as follows:

The 19 remaining clubs that will begin play in Round One will be divided into two "Club Pots" as follows:

The 19 available Round One bracket positions will be divided into the two "Position Pots" as follows:

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.

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).

For more details on the Concacaf Champions Cup, visit www.concacaf.com/champions-cup.