The 2026 CONCACAF Central American Cup will be the fourth edition of the CONCACAF Central American Cup, the first-tier annual international club football competition in the Central American region. It is contested by clubs whose football associations are affiliated with the Central American Football Union (UNCAF), a sub-confederation of CONCACAF. The competition will take place from 28 July to 6 December 2026.
Alajuelense are the three-time defending champions, having won the first three editions of the tournament, most recently defeating Xelajú in the 2025 final.
The four semi-finalists and the two play-in winners will qualify for the 2027 CONCACAF Champions Cup. The tournament champions will receive a bye to the Champions Cup Round of 16, while the remaining five qualified clubs will enter in Round One.
Teams Twenty teams from the seven UNCAF member associations qualified for the tournament based on their results in their respective domestic competitions.
The allocation of slots for this edition was as follows:
Costa Rica and Guatemala: 4 berths El Salvador, Honduras and Panama: 3 berths Nicaragua: 2 berths Belize: 1 berth
Association Team Qualifying method Verdes 2025–26 Premier League of Belize Apertura champions with the most points accumulated in the overall standings Alajuelense 2025–26 Liga FPD Apertura champions Herediano 2025–26 Liga FPD Clausura champions Saprissa 2025–26 Liga FPD best club in the overall standings not otherwise qualified Cartaginés 2025–26 Liga FPD next best club in the overall standings not otherwise qualified L.A. Firpo 2025–26 Primera División de El Salvador Apertura champions FAS 2025–26 Primera División de El Salvador Clausura champions Alianza 2025–26 Primera División de El Salvador best club in the overall standings not otherwise qualified Antigua 2025–26 Liga Nacional de Guatemala Apertura champions Municipal 2025–26 Liga Nacional de Guatemala Clausura champions and Apertura runners-up Xelajú 2025–26 Liga Nacional de Guatemala Clausura runners-up Mixco 2025–26 Liga Nacional de Guatemala best club in the overall standings not otherwise qualified Olimpia 2025–26 Honduran Liga Nacional Apertura champions Motagua 2025–26 Honduran Liga Nacional Clausura champions Marathón 2025–26 Honduran Liga Nacional best club in the overall standings not otherwise qualified Diriangén 2025–26 Liga Primera de Nicaragua Apertura champions Real Estelí 2025–26 Liga Primera de Nicaragua Clausura finalists Plaza Amador 2025 Liga Panameña de Fútbol Clausura champions Alianza 2025–26 Liga Panameña de Fútbol best club in the overall standings not otherwise qualified UMECIT 2025–26 Liga Panameña de Fútbol next best club in the overall standings not otherwise qualified
Draw
Schedule The schedule of the competition is as follows.
Stage Round First leg or match dates Second leg Group stage Matchday 1 28–30 July Matchday 2 4–6 August Matchday 3 11–13 August Matchday 4 18–20 August Matchday 5 25–27 August Knockout stage Quarter-finals 8–10 September 15–17 September Semi-finals and play-in 20–22 October 27–29 October Final 2 December 6 December
Group stage
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Knockout stage
Qualified teams
Seeding
The following was the seeding for the quarter-finals round only:
Bracket
Quarter-finals
Play-in
Semi-finals
Finals
Top goalscorers
RankPlayerTeamTotal1 Ronaldo Cisneros Alajuelense11 2 1 52 Geancarlo Castro Cartaginés 211 4 Orlando Sinclair Saprissa11 11 4 Everardo Rose Plaza Amador 2 1 3 Diego Casas Xelajú 111 Jorge Benguché Olimpia1 11 Mariano Torres Saprissa11 1 Nicolas Martínez Mixco 21 Yairo Moreno Marathón 1 11 José González Cartaginés 1 11 Diego Mesén Cartaginés 11 1 12 Mauricio Cerritos Firpo 11 2 John Ruiz Alajuelense 1 1 Diego Ortez Firpo 1 1 Imanol Enríquez Olimpia 1 1 Jonathan Moya Motagua2 Rodrigo de Olivera Motagua 1 1 Anthony Hernández Alajuelense 1 1 Damin Ramírez Marathón 1 1 Nicolás Messiniti Marathón 1 1
See also 2026 CONCACAF Caribbean Cup 2026 Leagues Cup 2027 CONCACAF Champions Cup
References
External links at CONCACAF.com Official competition regulations