Concacaf Champions Cup PREVIEW: Everything you NEED to know for 2026 🏆

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The Concacaf Champions Cup is returning for 2026, and this year's tournament is going to feature more Canadian sides than ever.

A record three Canadian Premier League clubs will be competing in February. Forge FC return to the tournament for a fourth time after winning the 2025 CPL Shield as the top regular season team. Meanwhile, Atlético Ottawa make their Concacaf debut after claiming their first CPL championship in November, and Vancouver FC enter the tournament after finishing as runners-up in the 2025 TELUS Canadian Championship.

The tournament is the most prestigious international club competition for North and Central America and the Caribbean, featuring many of the region's best and most historic clubs.

Some of the most famous stars in world football will take part, from Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami crew, to Son Heung-min of LAFC and Thomas Müller of the Whitecaps. So, too, will a handful of Canadian national team favourites, like Jacob Shaffelburg and Dayne St. Clair.

It all kicks off on Tuesday, Feb. 3, but here's what you need to know about the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup.

What is the Concacaf Champions Cup?

The Champions Cup is a tournament with history dating back to 1962, when Mexican side Guadalajara won the inaugural edition (at the time, an eight-team competition with no teams from Canada or the United States).

Since then, it has gone through several evolutions, including a period from 2008 to 2023 where it was known as the Concacaf Champions League. It reverted to the Champions Cup name in 2024, and has operated in the same format since.

Twenty-seven clubs in total take part in the tournament, with 22 entering in the first round while five clubs get a bye to the round of 16.

Every round of the competition, except for the final, is played as a two-legged home-and-away elimination tie, with the away goals rule in place. In round one, the higher-seeded team in the Concacaf Club Rankings hosts leg two.

The defending champions of the tournament are Mexico's Cruz Azul, who beat the Vancouver Whitecaps in the 2025 final. They, along with Liga MX rivals Club América, have won the most Concacaf Champions Cup titles with seven.

Mexican sides have won 40 of the 60 previous competitions. Costa Rican sides are second with six, followed by the U.S. and El Salvador tied with three each. 

As the premier men's club competition in the Concacaf region, there's a lot on the line here. Not only do teams like the three from the CPL get to test themselves against some top clubs; the stakes are high for everyone involved.

The winner of the Concacaf Champions Cup qualifies directly for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup, where they'll join 2025 winners Cruz Azul and the 2027 and 2028 winners as Concacaf's representatives. They will also qualify for the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup, where they'll play champions of the other five FIFA confederations.

All you need to know ahead of the next Champions Cup 🧠🏆 pic.twitter.com/3niB86jy0p

— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) January 6, 2026

How Can I Watch?

The 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup is available in Canada exclusively on OneSoccer.

Who's Playing?

This year's tournament features teams from 10 countries, including four from Canada, eight from the United States, and six from Mexico. Also represented in the competition are Jamaica, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Dominican Republic.

Five of the 27 participating teams will receive a bye to the round of 16:

• Inter Miami CF (MLS Cup champions)
• Toluca (2024-25 Liga MX champion with highest aggregate points)
• Seattle Sounders FC (Leagues Cup winners)
• Alajuelense [Costa Rica] (Concacaf Central American Cup winners)
• Mount Pleasant FA [Jamaica] (Concacaf Caribbean Cup winners)

The remaining 22 sides begin play in round one. They are as follows (qualification path in parentheses):

• Atlético Ottawa (Canadian Premier League)
• Forge FC (Canadian Premier League)
• Vancouver FC (Canadian Championship)
• FC Cincinnati (MLS)
• Los Angeles FC (MLS)
• Philadelphia Union (MLS)
• San Diego FC (MLS)
• Vancouver Whitecaps FC (MLS)
• LA Galaxy (Leagues Cup)
• Nashville SC (U.S. Open Cup)
• Club América (Liga MX)
• Cruz Azul (Liga MX)
• CF Monterrey (Liga MX)
• Pumas UNAM (Liga MX)
• Tigres UANL (Liga MX)
• O&M FC [Dominican Republic] (Caribbean Cup)
• Defence Force [Trinidad and Tobago] (Caribbean Cup)
• Xelajú [Guatemala] (Central American Cup)
• Real España [Honduras] (Central American Cup)
• Olimpia [Honduras] (Central American Cup)
• Cartaginés [Costa Rica] (Central American Cup)
• Sporting San Miguelito [Panama] (Central American Cup)

What's the Schedule?

This year's tournament begins with three round one games on Tuesday, Feb. 3, and it runs all the way to the final set for Saturday, May 30.

Canadian Premier League side Forge FC have the honour of hosting the tournament's first match this year, which they'll do at Hamilton Stadium against Tigres UANL.

Round one is split into two windows. Five of the ties will be played within the first two weeks of February, and the remaining six within the following two weeks. Matchups involving Liga MX teams have been assigned to the early window, while most of those involving Major League Soccer sides are in the second window.

The full first-round schedule is here:

Tuesday, Feb. 3

7 p.m. ET: Forge FC vs. Tigres UANL (Leg 1) — Hamilton Stadium
9 p.m. ET: Olimpia vs. Club América (Leg 1) — Estadio Chelato Uclés
11 p.m. ET: San Diego FC vs. Pumas UNAM (Leg 1) — Snapdragon Stadium

Wednesday, Feb. 4

8 p.m. ET: Xelajú vs. CF Monterrey (Leg 1) — Estadio Cementos Progreso
10 p.m. ET: Vancouver FC vs. Cruz Azul (Leg 1) — Willoughby Community Park

Tuesday, Feb. 10

8 p.m. ET: Pumas UNAM vs. San Diego FC (Leg 2) — Estadio Olímpico Universitario
10 p.m. ET: Tigres UANL vs. Forge FC (Leg 2) — Estadio Universitario (Nuevo León)

Wednesday, Feb. 11

8 p.m. ET: Club América vs. Olimpia (Leg 2) — Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes
10 p.m. ET: CF Monterrey vs. Xelajú (Leg 2) — Estadio BBVA

Thursday, Feb. 12

8 p.m. ET: Cruz Azul vs. Vancouver FC (Leg 2) — Estadio Cuauhtémoc

Tuesday, Feb. 17

8 p.m. ET: Atlético Ottawa vs. Nashville SC (Leg 1) — Hamilton Stadium
10 p.m. ET: Real España vs. Los Angeles FC (Leg 1) — Estadio Francisco Morazán

Wednesday, Feb. 18

6 p.m. ET: Defence Force vs. Philadelphia Union (Leg 1) — Hasely Crawford Stadium
8 p.m. ET: O&M FC vs. FC Cincinnati (Leg 1) — Estadio Cibao
10 p.m. ET: Cartaginés vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC (Leg 1) — Estadio Fello Meza

Thursday, Feb. 19

8 p.m. ET: Sporting San Miguelito vs. LA Galaxy (Leg 1) — Estadio Universitario (Penonomé)

Tuesday, Feb. 24

8 p.m. ET: Nashville SC vs. Atlético Ottawa (Leg 2) — GEODIS Park
10 p.m. ET: Los Angeles FC vs. Real España (Leg 2) — BMO Stadium

Wednesday, Feb. 25

7 p.m. ET: FC Cincinnati vs. O&M FC (Leg 2) — TQL Stadium
9:30 p.m. ET: Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Cartaginés (Leg 2) — BC Place
11:30 p.m. ET: LA Galaxy vs. Sporting San Miguelito (Leg 2) — Dignity Health Sports Park

Thursday, Feb. 26

7 p.m. ET: Philadelphia Union vs. Defence Force — Subaru Park