Three Reasons to Watch the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup

Liga MX teams have won 19 of the last 20 Concacaf titles.

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami have the Concacaf Champions Cup as a primary goal in 2026. | Megan Briggs/Getty Images

The 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup is set to kick off in the first week of February, with 27 teams spread across 10 countries all battling to lift the prestigious trophy come May.

The competition serves as the equivalent to the Champions League and Copa Libertadores for the region, while also sending the winner of the 2026 tournament to the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup. 

Liga MX teams have traditionally dominated, winning 19 of the last 20 titles, including the 2025 title as Cruz Azul won the tournament for a record seventh time against Vancouver Whitecaps. This year, an MLS side will look to win for the first time since 2022, while a non-Liga MX or MLS side seeks a first title since Deportivo Saprissa’s 2005 win. 

Here, Sports Illustrated looks at the key things to know ahead of kickoff on Feb. 3. 

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What Is the Format of the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup?

The 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup kicks off in February. | Luis Cano/Jam Media/Getty Images

The Concacaf Champions Cup forgoes any group stage action and instead goes straight to the knockout rounds. The opening four rounds are played as two-legged ties—home and away—with the away goals rule still applying if the score is tied after both legs. 

Goals scored in the second leg’s extra time, if needed, do not count towards the away goals rule. 

The final will be a single match on May 30, 2026. Defending champions Cruz Azul will look to become the first to go back-to-back since Club América in 2015 and 2016.

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How to Watch 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup

• USA: Fox Sports 2, Tubi
• Mexico: Tubi
• Canada: OneSoccer
• Rest of World: Concacaf GO

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Inter Miami’s Next Goal

Lionel Messi (left) and Rodrigo de Paul (right) are eyeing Champions Cup glory with Inter Miami. | Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

In the first moments after Lionel Messi won MLS Cup with Inter Miami, the club’s co-owners, Jorge Mas and David Beckham, already had their new dream — the Concacaf Champions Cup. A lofty goal, but an attainable one for the most ambitious club in North America. The Herons’ dream far beyond MLS in their efforts to become a global club. 

Since uttering “our goal is to win the Champions [Cup]” after the MLS Cup win, every move Inter Miami have made has been with that in mind. This offseason, they’ve inked 2025 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Dayne St. Clair, a standout Brazilian center back in Micael, a new fullback in Sergio Regulión and most recently, a new Designed Player in Mexican striker Germán Berterame.

The club also fully acquired Rodrigo De Paul, re-signed Luis Suárez, brought back Lionel Messi in what is likely to be his last World Cup year and held on to Tadeo Allende, who at one point seemed unlikely to return due to salary cap constraints.

There are no teams in MLS that have enjoyed as focused an offseason as Miami and it has all come with a singular goal. Although Javier Mascherano’s have a first-round bye, fans should hope the club’s round of 16 tie comes against Canadian Premier League champions Atlético Ottawa rather than a 19th matchup in less than six years against Nashville SC. 

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Potential Cascadia, El Tráfico Rivalry Matches Loom

Son Heung-min will make his Concacaf Champions Cup debut with LAFC. | Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

With nine MLS teams in the mix and six Liga MX sides, the possibility of rivalry matches in some of the tournament's most critical moments is highly plausible. 

In just the second round, 2025 Leagues Cup champions Seattle Sounders could meet the 2025 MLS Cup finalists, Vancouver Whitecaps, should Vancouver advance past Costa Rica’s C.S. Cartaginés. That two-legged tie would feature Seattle’s home match at a quaint 5,000-person stadium in Spokane due to renovations at Lumen Field for the 2026 World Cup, providing a unique backdrop for Thomas Müller and other stars. 

Later on in the competition, the possibility of an El Tráfico semifinal between LAFC and LA Galaxy is not exceptionally far-fetched. Both clubs would have to navigate at least one Liga MX team in the first three rounds, before potentially meeting in a heated tie with a spot in the final on the line. 

While most Liga MX rivalries are split across the bracket, a Clásico Regio final between Monterrey and Club América is possible, as is a Clásico Joven between América and Mexico City rivals Cruz Azul. 

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Vancouver FC: The “Best Worst Team” in the World Takes on Liga MX Giants

Nicolás Mezquida and Vancouver FC will host Liga MX giants, Cruz Azul, at a community park in the first round. | Sarah Parker/Canadian Premier League

Despite finishing dead last in the Canadian Premier League, Vancouver FC are in the Champions Cup and will play a first-round tie against defending champions, Cruz Azul. 

Vancouver finished the 2025 season with just 21 points in 28 games but managed a Cinderella run to the Canadian Championship final, where they fell to the Whitecaps in the first-ever Vancouver derby. 

Due to the Whitecaps’ MLS success, Vancouver earned a berth in the Canadian Championship and now comes up against one of the biggest clubs in the Western Hemisphere, hosting their home leg at the 6,000-capacity Willoughby Community Park. 

Of course, they don’t stand much of a chance at an upset, but they enter the match under manager Martin Nash, who replaced former Iran men’s national team manager Afshin Ghotbi, who previously called Vancouver “the best worst team in the world” before parting ways with the club. 

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