The Canadian Premier League and Major League Soccer aren’t in season at the moment. But the top teams from both leagues will be in action this month when the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup kicks off.
Reigning CPL champions Cavalry FC and Forge FC (last year’s CPL finalists), as well as the Vancouver Whitecaps of MLS, each face tough tests in the first round of the prestigious continental competition.
Here’s what you need to know about this year’s Concacaf Champions Cup.
What is the Concacaf Champions Cup?
The Champions Cup is an annual tournament that brings together the best clubs from across Concacaf, which is the soccer region covering North and Central America, and the Caribbean.
Essentially, it’s the North American equivalent of the UEFA Champions League. In fact, the competition was formerly known as the Concacaf Champions League from 2008-23 before reverting to its original name of the Champions Cup, which was first played in 1962.
How does the Champions Cup work?
This year’s tournament consists of five rounds featuring 27 clubs from all over the Concacaf region.
Five teams have been granted first-round byes and automatic berths into the round of 16: LA Galaxy (2024 MLS Cup champions), Columbus Crew (2024 Leagues Cup champions), Club América (Mexico’s Liga MX champions), Costa Rica’s Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (2024 Central American Cup champions) and Jamaica’s Cavalier F.C. (2024 Caribbean Cup champions).
The remaining 22 teams have been paired off and the 11 winners in each of the two-legged, first-round series (home and away) move on to the round of 16.
The first round takes place between Feb. 4-27. The round of 16 is from March 4-13, followed by the quarterfinals (April 1-10), semifinals (April 22-May 1) — all two-legged, home-and-away series. The one-game final will take place June 1 and will be hosted by the highest seed.
In addition to being crowned the best team in Concacaf, the winner of this year’s tournament also qualifies for the 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup and the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup.
CPL teams looking for respect
For the second year in a row, Cavalry FC and Forge FC will carry the banner for the Canadian Premier League in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Both will also be looking to become the first CPL team to record a victory in the tournament. In 2024, both sides bowed out in the opening round: Forge lost both of its legs to Mexican side Club Deportivo Guadalajara, while Cavalry suffered back-to-back losses to Orlando City of MLS.
The CPL has grown by leaps and bounds since its inaugural season in 2019 and the league has gained widespread admiration and acclaim in the international soccer community for the way it develops young Canadian players.
Last summer, Belgian side RWD Molenbeek paid Forge a reported $1 million for young forward Kwasi Poku, setting a new CPL-record transfer fee. Just this week, Vancouver FC sold 16-year-old Grady McDonnell to Belgian champions Club Brugge KV in the second-biggest transfer deal in the history of the CPL, reported to be worth $525,000.
Now the time has come for CPL teams to punch above their weight on the pitch. A victory by either Cavalry or Forge in the first round of the Champions Cup would send a big statement to the rest of the Concacaf region about the CPL’s growing importance and reputation within Concacaf.
First round: Cavalry FC vs. Pumas UNAM
Having twice finally finished as runners-up in the CPL, Cavalry FC finally won its first North Star Cup after defeating Forge FC in last November’s league championship finale. Now the Calgary-based club is looking to take the next step in its evolution by becoming a force to reckon with in Concacaf.
Long-time coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. can rely on the bulk of his championship squad for this year’s Champions Cup, including 2024 CPL Final MVP and Golden Boot winner Tobias Warschewski.
They face a pretty tough assignment in the form of Mexican outfit Pumas UNAM. The team from Mexico City is one of the country’s biggest and most successful outfits, and boasts a rock-solid defence anchored by Brazilian Nathan Silva, captain Lisandro Magallán and Rubén Duarte, formerly of Spanish clubs Espanyol and Deportivo Alavés.
Cavalry hosts Pumas in the opener on Thursday in Langford, B.C., due to weather concerns in Calgary. The second leg goes Feb. 13 in Mexico City.
The winner of this series meets Costa Rica's Alajuelense in the round of 16.
First round: Forge FC vs. CF Monterrey
Forge FC is a team in flux at the moment.
The Hamilton-based club lost to Cavalry FC last November in the CPL Final and has since parted company with a number of important players, most notably influential midfielder Alessandro Hojabrpour, defender Garven Metusala and striker Terran Campbell, the CPL’s all-time leading goal-scorer.
At the same time, new recruits have been brought in by coach and technical director Bobby Smyrniotis in order to replenish Forge’s roster. Former Toronto FC forward Mo Babouli and ex-York United FC star Brian Wright (the CPL Players’ Player of the Year for 2024) should bolster the attack — last year they combined for 16 goals at York United — while Daniel Nimick (a nominee for last year’s Defender of the Year award with the Halifax Wanderers) will be expected to anchor the back line.
Forge will need all hands on deck against Mexican club Monterrey, one of the most successful clubs in the history of the Concacaf Champions Cup having won this tournament five times in the last 15 years. Monterrey was runner-up in the most recent Mexican league campaign and boasts a number of marquee players, including Spanish midfielder Sergio Canales, whose previous clubs included Real Madrid, Valencia and Real Betis.
Forge hosts Monterrey in the opening leg on Wednesday at Tim Hortons Field. The second leg is scheduled for Feb. 11 in Mexico. The winner will face the winner of the first-round series between the Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Costa Rica’s Deportivo Saprissa in the round of 16.
First round: Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Deportivo Saprissa
These are interesting times for the Vancouver Whitecaps, who qualified for the Champions Cup by virtue of winning the 2024 Canadian Championship.
Beloved former coach Vanni Sartini was inexplicably fired just weeks after the MLS club’s disappointing playoff exit at the hands of LAFC last November. A month later, the Whitecaps’ owners — which include former NBA star Steve Nash — announced the initiation of a process to sell the club. Just last week, DP Stuart Armstrong left the Whitecaps (after originally signing with the team less than six months ago) to join English side Sheffield Wednesday.
All of which sets the stage for Vancouver’s first-round series against Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica, which marks Jesper Sørensen’s debut as the MLS team’s new coach. The Danish tactician only took charge of the Whitecaps on Jan. 14, so it’ll be interesting to see how the side fares in a two-legged affair against Saprissa given that he hasn’t had much time to work with his players.
The Whitecaps visit Saprissa for the first leg on Feb. 20 before hosting the decisive return match a week later.
Who are some of the other top teams in the Champions Cup?
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami square off against MLS rivals Sporting Kansas City in the first round.
The Columbus Crew (last year’s Champions Cup finalists) have a first-round bye, as does the reigning MLS Cup champions LA Galaxy and Mexico’s Club América, who have won the Champions Cup/Champions League a record seven times.
Other clubs involved in this year’s tournament include Real Estelí (Nicaragua), F.C. Motagua (Honduras), Club Sport Herediano (Costa Rica), Cruz Azul (Mexico) and the Seattle Sounders (MLS).
Editor’s note
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 25 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer.
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