The unthinkable has happened: Vancouver FC will play in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup.
The Eagles, who finished last in the Canadian Premier League on Sunday, secured their place in next year’s top continental competition thanks to a match between two MLS sides. Austin’s win over LAFC ensured the Vancouver Whitecaps claimed one of MLS’s five Champions Cup spots.
As a result, the Whitecaps’ Canadian Championship berth was passed down to the runners-up, Vancouver FC.
Vancouver FC locked in for the 2026 Champions Cup 🔒✅ pic.twitter.com/oKOtxNe9nW
— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) October 13, 2025
The Eagles have endured a challenging season, finishing last in the Canadian Premier League for the first time in their history. Despite a late resurgence, earning draws away to Forge and Atlético Ottawa, and back-to-back wins over York and Halifax, the early stages of the campaign were plagued by dropped points and inconsistency.
The club even sacked Afshin Ghotbi, the club's inaugural head coach, and went for Martin Nash as the interim head coach.
While their league campaign turned out to be a disaster, the Canadian Championship told a different story — one that ultimately earned them a ticket to the continental stage.
They began their campaign with a penalty shootout victory away vs. Pacific in the Preliminary round. In the quarter-finals, they faced Cavalry, and with all odds against them, they once again prevailed on penalties. In the semi-finals, they were matched with Atlético Ottawa. Still, against all odds, they beat the club from the nation's capital 3-1 in the first leg, and held on to a 1-0 defeat in the second match, earning their spot in the final after a 3-2 aggregate victory.
In the grand finale against the Vancouver Whitecaps, the Eagles fell 4-2, but the performance was far from disappointing. Considering their league position and the strength of their MLS counterparts, the result was a respectable finish to a historic cup run — one that has now propelled them onto the continental stage.
Canada will have two additional representatives from the Canadian Premier League.
The CPL Shield (regular season) winner and the North Star Cup (playoff) champion will each earn a spot in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup.
If a single team wins both titles, the second berth will be awarded to the next-best team in the regular season standings.
All qualified clubs so far
USA (5):
- Seattle Sounders FC
- Inter Miami CF
- LA Galaxy
- Philadelphia Union
- Nashville SC
Mexico (6):
- Deportivo Toluca
- Club América
- CF Monterrey
- Cruz Azul
- Tigres UANL
- Pumas UNAM
Canada (2):
- Vancouver Whitecaps
- Vancouver FC
Central America (4):
- Alajuelense (Costa Rica)
- Olimpia (Honduras)
- Xelajú (Guatemala)
- Real España (Honduras)
Two more clubs from Central America will qualify through the Central American Cup, while three teams will advance from the Caribbean Cup.
Five teams will receive a bye to the Round of 16, while the remaining 22 clubs will begin in the Preliminary Round. The five seeded teams are the Caribbean Cup champion, Central American Cup champion, Leagues Cup champion (Seattle Sounders), the Liga MX Apertura or Clausura winner with the higher aggregate points (Deportivo Toluca), and the MLS Cup winner.
