On Wednesday night, Canadian Premier League clubs Cavalry FC and Forge FC will find out their path to continental glory, as the draw for the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup is conducted in Florida.
Both Cavalry and Forge, who qualified for the tournament as the CPL’s regular season and playoff champions, respectively, have been placed in Pot 2 based on their latest Concacaf club ranking, and can be drawn against any of 11 clubs from Major League Soccer and Liga MX.
In total, 27 teams are taking part in this Champions Cup, which will be the first edition to be played in this expanded format. Five teams have received byes directly to the round of 16: MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew SC, Leagues Cup champions Inter Miami CF, Liga MX Apertura winners Pachuca, Central American Cup champions Alajuelense (Costa Rica), and Caribbean Cup champions Robinhood (Suriname).
The remaining 22 teams will enter in the first round, vying to advance to the round of 16. Those clubs have been divided into two pots based on club ranking. The three top-ranked teams — in this case Club América, Monterrey and Tigres — are seeded at the top of Pot 1, which means they will be placed in the bracket in spots where they would not play a team with a bye if they advance to the round of 16.
The first-round pots are as follows
Pot 1 |
Pot 2 |
||
| Club | Ranking | Club | Ranking |
| Club América (MEX) | 1 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC (CAN) | 33 |
| Monterrey (MEX) | 2 | Saprissa (CRC) | 44 |
| Tigres UANL (MEX) | 3 | St. Louis City SC (USA) | 47 |
| Philadelphia Union (USA) | 5 | Herediano (CRC) | 49 |
| Toluca (MEX) | 6 | Comunicaciones (GUA) | 52 |
| Chivas Guadalajara (MEX) | 8 | Independiente (PAN) | 53 |
| Orlando City SC (USA) | 11 | Cavalry FC (CAN) | 54 |
| Nashville SC (USA) | 13 | Forge FC (CAN) | 55 |
| FC Cincinnati (USA) | 14 | Real Esteli (NCA) | 74 |
| New England Revolution (USA) | 23 | Moca (DOM) | 108 |
| Houston Dynamo (USA) | 26 | Cavalier (JAM) | 109 |
Cavalry and Forge will, therefore, have the chance to draw one of the best teams in the entire region and test themselves against a very difficult opponent, likely in a challenging environment whether that be in Mexico or the United States.
All rounds of this year’s Concacaf Champions Cup, except for the final, are two-legged home-and-away ties. The first round is slated to kick off the week of Feb. 6, with half the tournament running until the championship match on June 2.
The competition was previously known as the Concacaf Champions League, and the lone CPL involvement in it was in early 2022 when Forge played a hard-fought first-round tie against Mexican side Cruz Azul. The Hamilton club have also previously taken part in the now-defunct Concacaf League three times.
On the other hand, this will be Cavalry’s first ever foray into continental competition.
The draw will be conducted on Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. ET.