The 2026 CONCACAF Women's Championship will be the 12th edition of the CONCACAF W Championship, the quadrennial international women's football championship contested by the senior women's national teams of the member associations of CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Eight teams will play in the tournament, which will take place in November 2026.[1]
The tournament will serve as the CONCACAF qualifiers to the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil. The top four teams will qualify for the World Cup, while two additional teams will advance to a play-off tournament.[2] In addition, the two finalists will qualify for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles; should the United States be one of the finalists, then the winner of the third-place match will qualify.[1]
The United States are the three-time defending champions of the competition, having won the 2014, 2018 and 2022 tournaments.
Format
Eight teams will play in the tournament, which will be held in November 2026. They will play a single-elimination tournament consisting of quarter-finals, play-ins (between the losers of the quarter-finals), semi-finals, a third place match and a final. The competition will qualify four CONCACAF teams for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil, while two teams will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs. In addition, two teams will qualify for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[1][2]
The two highest-ranked teams in the CONCACAF ranking will receive a bye to the final tournament. Teams will be drawn into six groups of five, and will play single round-robin matches (two home and two away) between October 2025 and April 2026. The six group winners will advance to the final tournament.[1] Should more than thirty CONCACAF member associations enter, a play-in round will be held prior to the qualifying group stage.[citation needed]
All teams will be seeded according to the CONCACAF ranking. The quarter-finals will feature the first- and eighth-seeded teams, the second- and seventh-seeded teams, the third- and sixth-seeded teams, and the fourth- and fifth-seeded teams facing off.[1]
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United States