After an historic inaugural season which saw it finish on top of the Western Conference regular season standings, San Diego FC will take on Liga MX side Pumas UNAM in the opening round of the 61st edition of the Concacaf Champions Cup.
The tournament kicks off on Feb. 3, 2026.
SDFC’s historic inaugural Major League Soccer season saw it finish atop the Western Conference regular season standings along with making the conference final, where it fell 3-1 to Vancouver FC.
San Diego FC. (Photo courtesy David Frerker)Pumas is a three-time winner of the tournament with its most recent championship coming in 1989 when it defeated Pinar del Rio from Cuba by a 4-2.
“We qualified for [Concacaf Champions Cup] in year one and it’s a fantastic achievement,” said San Diego FC general manager and sporting director Tyler Heaps.
“We’re going to get a big team to start. So I think that will be a really exciting measuring stick right away to see where we sit.”
San Diego FC’s most recent competition against Liga MX teams came in the Leagues Cup from July 29 to August 5 where the team, led by head coach Mikey Varas, finished with a record of one win and two defeats.
Its lone victory during that tournament came against Mazatlan FC by a score of 2-0 after losing to Pachuca and Tigres UANL by a score of 3-2 and 2-1, respectively.
Pumas UNAM is coming off a lackluster season which saw the team, led by head coach Efrain Juarez, get eliminated by Pachuca 3-1 in the play-in game.
San Diego FC. (Photo courtesy David Frerker)The Concacaf Champions Cup is played in a direct elimination knockout stage format with the first four rounds consisting of home and away games while the final is played as a single leg match.
The 27 participating clubs have qualified via Concacaf’s three regional cups across North America, Central America and the Caribbean as well as domestic leagues and cups in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Of the 27 clubs, 22 will start in round one with the 11 winners advancing to the round of 16 joining the three champions of Concacaf’s regional cups and the winners of Liga MX and MLS who were pre-seeded into this round. In round one, the highest ranked clubs will host the return legs at home with the winner of Pumas UNAM and San Diego FC facing off with the reigning Liga MX champion, Toluca FC, in the round of 16.
Los Diablos Rojos de Toluca are currently looking to repeat as Liga MX champions as they face off with Tigres UANL on Dec. 11 and Dec. 14.
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