May 8 – The final of Concacaf’s Champions Cup is set to take place June 1 in Mexico City between Cruz Azul and Vancouver Whitecaps. Two days later the confederation will begin plotting the pathway for clubs into the 2026 edition of the competition with the draw for the 2025 Concacaf Central American Cup.
It is the third edition of the 20-team regional cup tournament, which serves as a qualifier for the 2026 Champions Cup and will be played from July to December 2025.
Six Central American clubs will qualify for the 2026 Champions Cup. Costa Rica’s LD Alajuelense are the current champions, having secured a second consecutive title by defeating Nicaragua’s Real Estelí in last year’s final (3–2 on aggregate).
The 2025 draw, to be held at Concacaf HQ in Miami, will see four groups of five clubs in the group stage with clubs playing every club in their group once, (two at home and two away).The top two in each group will advance to the knockout stages that will feature home-and-away matches, beginning with the Quarterfinals, followed by the Semi-finals and Play-In, and concluding with the Final.
The four semi-finalists and the two play-in winners will qualify for the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup. The champion will also receive a bye to the Round of 16.
So far 13 clubs have secured a berth in the 20-team group stage:
Belize (1): Verdes FC
Costa Rica (3): CS Herediano, LD Alajuelense and Deportivo Saprissa
El Salvador (2): CD Hércules and CD Águila
Guatemala (2): CSD Xelajú and CSD Municipal
Honduras (2): FC Motagua and CD Olimpia
Nicaragua (2): Cacique Diriangén FC and Real Estelí FC
Panama (1): Club Atlético Independiente
The 7 remaining participating clubs (Costa Rica: 1, El Salvador: 1, Guatemala: 1, Honduras: 1, Nicaragua: 1, Panama: 2) will be confirmed by May 30, 2025.
Concacaf Central American Cup schedule:
Group Stage Week 1: July 29-31, 2025
Group Stage Week 2: August 5-7, 2025
Group Stage Week 3: August 12-14, 2025
Group Stage Week 4: August 19-21, 2025
Group Stage Week 5: August 26-28, 2025
Quarterfinals: September 23-25 and September 30 – October 2, 2025
Semifinals and Play-In: October 21-23 and 28-30, 2025
Final: November 25-27 and December 2-4, 2025
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