Draw Defines Groups for the 2025/26 Concacaf W Qualifiers

Concacaf held the official draw this Wednesday in Miami, Florida, for the 2025/26 Concacaf W Qualifiers, the preliminary phase that will determine the teams advancing to the 2026 Concacaf W Championship. This tournament will serve as the region’s qualifier for both the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027 and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

The Road to the 2026 W Championship

A total of 29 member associations will compete in this stage, which will be played during FIFA women’s international windows in November 2025, February, and April 2026. The teams have been drawn into six groups, while the region’s top two ranked nations, the United States and Canada, advance directly to the Championship.

The winners of each group will join these two powerhouses in the 2026 Concacaf W Championship, completing the field of eight participating teams.

The Groups

• Group A: Mexico, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, U.S. Virgin Islands

• Group B: Jamaica, Guyana, Nicaragua, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda

• Group C: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Bermuda, Grenada, Cayman Islands

• Group D: Haiti, Dominican Republic, Suriname, Belize, Anguilla

• Group E: Panama, Cuba, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Curaçao, Aruba

• Group F: Trinidad and Tobago, El Salvador, Honduras, Barbados

A Tournament with Double Rewards

The 2026 Concacaf W Championship, set for November 2026, will feature a knockout format beginning with the quarterfinals. Teams will be seeded 1 through 8 according to the FIFA Women’s Ranking, ensuring top-ranked teams face lower-ranked opponents.

The four semifinalists will automatically qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027, while the four quarterfinal losers will compete in a Play-In round, fighting for a chance to earn spots in the Intercontinental Playoffs.

Additionally, the two finalists will secure places in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. If the United States reaches the final, the Olympic berth will instead be awarded to the third-place team, following the precedent of host nation automatic qualification.

Recent Context

The United States are the reigning champions, having defeated Canada in the 2022 final in Monterrey, Mexico. That edition also marked history as six Concacaf nations — the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Panama, and Haiti — qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand.

With this new structure, the 2025/26 Concacaf W Qualifiers promise increased competitiveness and an opportunity for emerging nations to stake their claim on the global stage of women’s football.