Your Guide to the 2026 Champions Cup Draw

Concacaf will host the 2026 Champions Cup draw on Tuesday, officially marking the Philadelphia Union’s return to the competition after missing out last year. The tournament expands to 27 teams for 2026, and the full field is now locked in. Here’s what Union fans should know heading into the draw.

If you survived Friday’s marathon FIFA World Cup draw, this one would feel a little more straightforward. The Champions Cup keeps things simple: technically four pots, two pots for teams and two pots for bracket positions. The Philadelphia Union finds themselves in Pot 1. That means they avoid some of the bigger names in Round One and won’t face any other Pot 1 clubs right out of the gate. Before the draw even starts, Concacaf has already slotted the top three Round One teams into specific matchup games:

• Cruz Azul – Matchup 3
• Tigres UANL – Matchup 9
•  Club América – Matchup 7

The rest of Pot 1 looks like this:

• Vancouver Whitecaps FC
• LAFC
• CF Monterrey
• Philadelphia Union
• FC Cincinnati
• LA Galaxy
• Nashville SC
• Pumas UNAM

Once the draw begins, all Pot 1 teams, including Philly, will be placed into the remaining Round One bracket spots and matched with a club from Pot 2. The Pot is made up of the 11 lowest-ranked teams in the tournament. Those teams are:

• San Diego FC
• Club Olimpia Deportivo
• Forge FC
• Atlético Ottawa
• CS Cartaginés
• CSD Xelajú M.C.
• Sporting San Miguelito
• Real CD España
• Defence Force FC
• Vancouver FC
• O&M FC

If you’re counting teams you will notice the list doesn’t add up to 27, that’s because five clubs are already qualified for the Round of 16. They earned byes thanks to winning regional tournaments or major domestic titles, so they skip Round One entirely. Those teams are:

• Toluca – Liga MX champions with the most points
• Inter Miami – MLS Cup champions
• Seattle Sounders – Leagues Cup regional champions
• LD Alajuelense – Central American Cup winners
• Mount Pleasant – Caribbean champions

The first thing during Tuesday’s draw will see officials confirm the bracket positions for all eight pre-seeded teams. After that, draw assistants Brad Guzan and Pavel Pardo will get to work, pulling a team from Pot 1 and then a bracket spot from Pot A. Once all of Pot 1 is placed, they’ll repeat the process with Pot 2 and Pot B.

The draw happens live Tuesday night at 7 pm ET on Concacaf’s YouTube channel. Whoever wins the Champions Cup will also earn spots in the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup.