Concacaf Champions Cup FAQ: Everything you need to know

On Tuesday night, Nashville SC will play the first game of their 2026 season, not in Major League Soccer, but in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

Nashville's match against Atlético Ottawa will mark their second entrance into the competition, one of the oldest tournaments in North America, but one with which many fans in Music City may be unfamiliar. If that's you, fear not; we've got you covered.

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What is the Concacaf Champions Cup?

Founded in 1962, the Concacaf Champions Cup pits the top teams from North America, Central America and the Carribean in a head-to-head tournament. It's gone through several different iterations in its time, but has settled on essentially being the North American version of the UEFA Champions League – it was even called the Concacaf Champions League from 2008 to 2023.

How does it work?

Since 2023, 27 teams participate in the Champions Cup, playing a five-round knockout tournament to determine the winner. Here's how the entrants are broken down.

• Six Liga MX clubs
• Five MLS clubs
• Two Canadian Premier League clubs
• One U.S. Open Cup winner
• One Canadian Championship winner
• Three Leagues Cup clubs
• Six Central America Cup clubs
• Three Caribbean Cup clubs

22 teams will begin play in Round One, while five teams (the winners of MLS Cup, Liga MX, Leagues Cup, Central American Cup, and Caribbean Cup) get a bye into the Round of 16.

Each leg of the tournament will feature two legs, except for the final. From Round One through the semifinals, the matchups will feature a home-and-away format. The winner will be determined by aggregate goals over the two legs, with away goals used as the tiebreaker if aggregate goals are tied. In the case where aggregate and away goals are tied at the end of the second match, the game goes to the traditional 30-minute extra time period, with a penalty shootout determining the winner if necessary.

For the final, the team with the better performance over the course of the tournament will host the single-leg match.

Has Nashville played in Concacaf before?

Nashville SC have played in the Concacaf Champions Cup once before. Their performance in the 2023 Leagues Cup, finishing as runners up to Inter Miami, qualified them for their continental debut.

They blew past Dominican side Moca FC, winning 7-0 on aggregate, before falling to Inter Miami in the Round of 16 by a 5-3 aggregate scoreline. Ironically, if Nashville advance past Atlético Ottawa this time, they'll play none other than Inter Miami in yet another Round of 16 clash.

What's at stake?

There's more than just bragging rights on the line, although that certainly plays a part – the winner of the Champions Cup is widely regarded as the best team in North America. There are significant sporting and financial incentives, too.

The winner of the tournament will receive around $5 million in prize money. For MLS clubs, who operate on a tight salary cap, that's a significant sum. The winner will also qualify for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup, giving them an otherwise impossible opportunity to play against the true giants of global soccer.

The winner also gets a berth into the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup, pitting them in a tournament against the winners of the top club competitions from FIFA's six confederations.

Has an MLS team ever won Concacaf Champions Cup?

The Seattle Sounders are the lone MLS team to have won the competition in its current format, winning it in 2022. Additionally, DC United (1998) and the LA Galaxy (2000) each lifted the trophy in its old format, when only eight teams participated.

MLS clubs have been able to make deep runs in the tournament much more regularly in recent years. LAFC (2020, 2023), Columbus Crew (2024), Toronto FC (2018) and Vancouver Whitecaps (2025) have finished as runners-up in recent seasons, with Real Salt Lake (2010-11) and CF Montréal (2014-15) also coming up just short.

When is the final?

The final this season is set for Saturday, May 30. If Nashville SC make it to the final, they'll play a total of nine additional games outside of their typical MLS schedule, making it as much a test of their depth as their quality.