On Tuesday night, the three Canadian Premier League clubs participating in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup learned their tournament draw, and round one opponents.
Forge FC drew Tigres UNAL, Atlético Ottawa battle MLS's Nashville SC and Vancouver FC take on defending Concacaf Champions Cup winners Cruz Azul.
This is the first edition of the Champions Cup to feature three CPL clubs: Forge FC and Atlético Ottawa, qualifying as the CPL Shield winners and North Star Cup champions, respectively, and Vancouver FC, as the TELUS Canadian Championship runners-up.
Forge, in their fourth Concacaf Champions Cup appearance, will take on a fourth different LigaMX giant as they drew Tigres UNAL. The 2020 champions, Tigres, have made four appearances in the final in this tournament.
In their first-ever Champions Cup appearance, Vancouver FC face off against defending champions Cruz Azul. Ironically, it was another Vancouver club, the Vancouver Whitecaps, who Cruz Azul defeated 5-0 in the 2025 final. It was their seventh title, tied with Club América for the most in the competition's history.
Also making their tournament debut, CPL champions Atlético Ottawa take on Jacob Shaffelburg's Nashville SC, who themselves are making just their second tournament appearance. The winner of that matchup faces the seeded Inter Miami in the Round of 16.
The round one draw featured 22 teams split into two pots, with three seeded teams (Cruz Azul, Club América and Tigres) given pre-determined positions in the bracket.
A further five teams were given byes through the round of 16 as the winners of top club competitions: Mount Pleasant (Jamaica), Alejuelense (Costa Rica), Seattle Sounders (MLS), Toluca (LigaMX) and, of course, recent MLS Cup Champions, Lionel Messi's Inter Miami.
The match schedule, as well as venues, for the competition will be revealed at a later date. However, the home leg for the three CPL clubs will be played in one of two windows, either between Feb. 3-5 or Feb. 17-19. The second, and away, leg will be either Feb. 10-12 or 24-26.
The 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup final is scheduled for Saturday, May 30. Watch the action live on OneSoccer. The full bracket can be found below.
