Concacaf announces procedures for 2025 Champions Cup draw

Miami, FL — Concacaf has announced the procedures that will govern the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup draw. The live, made-for-tv event in Miami, FL, will take place on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, and will determine each club’s path to the Final of this elite club competition.

The 60th edition of the Concacaf Champions Cup is shaping up to be a historic one, as some of the region's top teams, including Club America, Guadalajara, and Cruz Azul from Liga MX, Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami FC, Los Angeles’ LAFC and LA Galaxy, and Costa Rican powerhouses Alajuelense and Herediano, have already secured a berth. 

The tournament continues to be played in a direct elimination knockout stage format, including five rounds and 27 clubs. The first four rounds, Round One, Round of 16, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals, all include home and away play, while the Final, where the region's Champion is crowned, is played as a single-leg match.

The eleven Round One series will be played in February, followed by the Round of 16 in March, the Quarterfinals in the first half of April, the semifinals in late April and early May, and an epic Final on Sunday, June 1.

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, including FOX Sports (USA-English) and ESPN | Star+ (Central America, Caribbean, and South America). 

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 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup regulations, qualification criteria, and the Concacaf Club Rankings of December 9, 2024, 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, as well as the Liga MX Champion with the most accumulated points and the MLS Cup Champion, have received a bye to the Round of 16, rewarding their sporting merit. These five clubs are (in alphabetical order per competition):

• TBC (2024 Concacaf Caribbean Cup champion)
• TBC (2024 Concacaf Central American Cup champion)
• Columbus Crew (2024 Leagues Cup champion)
• Club America (2023/24 Liga MX champion with the most accumulated points)
• TBC (2024 MLS Cup champion)

Furthermore, these five clubs will be pre-seeded in a Round of 16 bracket position based on the Concacaf Club Rankings of December 9, 2024, as follows:

• Highest-ranked club: Round of 16 Matchup 1
• Second highest-ranked club: Round of 16 Matchup 5
• Third highest-ranked club: Round of 16 Matchup 8
• Fourth highest-ranked club: Round of 16 Matchup 4
• Fifth highest-ranked club: Round of 16 Matchup 2

Round One

For Round One, 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 pre-seeded to reward their competitive merit and strength into a Round One matchup as follows:

• Highest-ranked club: Round One Matchup 3
• Second highest-ranked club: Round One Matchup 9
• Third highest-ranked club: Round One Matchup 7

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

• Pot 1: 8 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 drawing a sphere from Pot 1, immediately followed by a Round One bracket position from Pot A. This process will be repeated for all Pot 1 spheres, always using the available bracket positions in Pot A.

Once all spheres from Pot 1 have been drawn, the draw for Pots 2 and B will begin. Once all clubs have been assigned a bracket position, the draw will conclude.

PARTICIPATING CLUBS

Clubs qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup via three regional cups in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, as well as domestic leagues and cups for Canada, Mexico, and the United States. 

Thus far, 25 clubs have secured a berth in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup. These clubs are (in alphabetical order per tournament):

Canadian Championship (one club): Vancouver Whitecaps FC (CAN)

Canadian Premier League (two clubs): Cavalry FC (CAN) and Forge FC (CAN)

Concacaf Caribbean Cup (two clubs): Cavalier FC (JAM), Cibao FC (DOM)

Concacaf Central American Cup (six clubs): Antigua GFC (GUA), CS Herediano (CRC), Deportivo Saprissa (CRC), FC Motagua (HON), LD Alajuelense (CRC), Real Esteli FC (NCA)

Leagues Cup (three clubs): Colorado Rapids (USA), Columbus Crew (USA), Los Angeles FC (USA)

Liga MX (six clubs): CD Guadalajara (MEX), CF Monterrey (MEX), Club America (MEX), Cruz Azul (MEX), Pumas UNAM (MEX), Tigres UANL (MEX)

MLS (four clubs): FC Cincinnati (USA), Inter Miami CF (USA), LA Galaxy (USA), Real Salt Lake (USA) 

US Open Cup (one club): Sporting Kansas City (USA)

The two remaining clubs will be confirmed ahead of December’s draw. They will include the 2024 Concacaf Caribbean Cup Third-Place Finisher and the 2024 MLS Cup Champion. 

For more details on how each club has qualified, click here.