CONCACAF Central American Cup
| Organizer(s) | UNCAF CONCACAF |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| Region | Central America |
| Teams | 20 |
| Qualifier for | CONCACAF Champions Cup |
| Related competitions | CONCACAF Caribbean Cup Leagues Cup |
| Current champion(s) | Alajuelense (3rd title) |
| Most championships | Alajuelense (3 titles) |
| Broadcaster | CONCACAF (YouTube) |
| Website | Official website |
| 2025 CONCACAF Central American Cup | |
The CONCACAF Central American Cup (Spanish: Copa Centroamericana de CONCACAF) is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top regional tournament for clubs from Central America. It serves as a qualification method for the CONCACAF Champions Cup.[1]
Alajuelense is the only champion in the tournament's history, winning all three editions played so far.[2]
History
On 21 September 2021, CONCACAF announced plans for an expansion of the CONCACAF Champions League tournament from 16 to 27 teams beginning in 2024. As part of the restructuring, regional qualification tournaments will be held for teams from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean beginning in 2023. The CONCACAF Central American Cup will replace CONCACAF League as the sole method of qualification to CONCACAF Champions Cup for teams from Central America.[3]
Competition format
The tournament will be structured into a group phase and a knockout phase. During the group phase, the 20 teams will be split into four groups of five. Teams will play one game against each team in their group and the top two teams in each group will advance to the knockout phase. The knockout phase will consist of four rounds plus a play-in round for the losers of the quarterfinals.[4]
The two play-in round and four quarterfinal winners qualify for the CONCACAF Champions Cup. The Central American Cup winner will receive a first round bye and advance directly to the Champions Cup Round of 16 while the other qualifying teams enter Round One.[4]
Qualification
A total of 20 teams representing all seven Central American Football Union members will qualify based on the results of their domestic league seasons.[4] The qualification criteria for 18 of the berths is as follows:
| Nation | League | Participants |
|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | Liga FPD | 3 clubs |
| El Salvador | Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador | 3 clubs |
| Guatemala | Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala | 3 clubs |
| Honduras | Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional de Honduras | 3 clubs |
| Panama | Liga Panameña de Fútbol | 3 clubs |
| Nicaragua | Liga Primera de Nicaragua | 2 clubs |
| Belize | Premier League of Belize | 1 club |
For the 2023 edition, Costa Rica and Honduras were awarded an extra slot by having clubs that reached the finals of the 2022 CONCACAF League.[5] For the 2024 edition, Costa Rica and Nicaragua were awarded an extra slot by having clubs that reached the finals of the 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup.[6]
Results
| Year | Champions | Results | Runners-up | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Alajuelense | 3–0 | Real Estelí | Estadio Independencia, Estelí |
| 1–1 | Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto, Alajuela | |||
| 2024 | Alajuelense | 1–1 | Real Estelí | Estadio Independencia, Estelí |
| 2–1 | Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto, Alajuela | |||
| 2025 | Alajuelense | 1–1 | Xelajú | Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto, Alajuela |
| 1–1 (4–3 p) |
Cementos Progreso Stadium, Guatemala City |
Performances
| Club | Titles | Runners-up | Years won | Years runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alajuelense | 3 |
0 |
2023, 2024, 2025 | –
|
| Real Estelí | 0 |
2 |
– |
2023, 2024 |
| Xelajú | 0 |
1 |
– |
2025 |
| Nation | Titles | Runners-up | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Nicaragua | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Guatemala | 0 | 1 | 1 |
All-time standings
- As of 3 December 2025
- Only top-10 showing (2023–present)
| No | Club | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | Df | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alajuelense | 30 | 18 | 10 | 2 | 53 | 26 | +27 | 64 |
| 2 | Real Estelí | 24 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 30 | 26 | +4 | 38 |
| 3 | Saprissa | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 36 | 16 | +20 | 36 |
| 4 | Motagua | 24 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 36 | 32 | +4 | 35 |
| 5 | Herediano | 20 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 33 | 27 | +6 | 34 |
| 6 | Olimpia | 16 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 35 | 15 | +20 | 32 |
| 7 | Independiente | 16 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 23 | 22 | +1 | 24 |
| 8 | Cartaginés | 16 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 30 | 20 | +10 | 22 |
| 9 | Sporting San Miguelito | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 14 | +3 | 22 |
| 10 | Comunicaciones | 16 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 22 | 20 | +2 | 21 |
See also
- CONCACAF Champions Cup
- CONCACAF League
- Leagues Cup
- CONCACAF Caribbean Cup
- UNCAF Women's Interclub Championship
References
- ^ "Concacaf launches Concacaf Champions Cup". www.CONCACAF.com. CONCACAF. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
- ^ "Alajuelense tops Xelajú on PKs to win third Central American Cup trophy". Concacaf. 1 December 2025. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ^ "Concacaf announces expanded Champions League starting in 2024". MLSSoccer.com. 21 September 2021. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021.
- ^ a b c "Concacaf announces qualification criteria for Confederation's expanded Champions League starting in 2024". Concacaf. 1 June 2022. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
- ^ "Concacaf announces qualification criteria update for 2023 Concacaf Central American Cup". Concacaf. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- ^ "Concacaf confirms important details for 2024 Concacaf Central American Cup". Concacaf. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.