The 2020–21 CONCACAF Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round will begin 6 August and will end on 16 August 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all qualification and playoff matches will be held behind closed doors at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas United States, near Dallas. Additionally, due to the pandemic, all matches will be a single leg.
The Champions Path includes all league champions which do not qualify directly for the group stage, and consists of the following rounds:
Preliminary round (7 teams playing one-legged semi-finals and final): 7 teams which enter in this round.
First qualifying round (32 teams): 31 teams which enter in this round, and 1 winner of the preliminary round.
Second qualifying round (20 teams): 4 teams which enter in this round, and 16 winners of the first qualifying round.
Third qualifying round (12 teams): 2 teams which enter in this round, and 10 winners of the second qualifying round.
Play-off round (8 teams): 2 teams which enter in this round, and 6 winners of the third qualifying round.
All teams eliminated from the Champions Path enter the SuperLiga, except for clubs that withdrew from the tournament due to COVID-19:
The 3 semi-final/final losers of the preliminary round and the 16 losers of the first qualifying round enter the Champions Path second qualifying round.
The format of this edition of the Champions League will see extensive changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each tie in the qualification rounds will be held over a single leg on a neutral venue, with the winner advancing to the next round. If the match ends in a draw, then extra time is played. If no goals are scored during extra time, the tie is decided by penalty shoot-out.
In the draws for each round, teams are seeded based on their CONCACAF club coefficients at the beginning of the season, with the teams divided into seeded and unseeded pots containing the same number of teams. A seeded team is drawn against an unseeded team, in each tie decided by draw. As the identity of the winners of the previous round is not known at the time of the draws, the seeding is carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advances to this round, which means if the team with the lower coefficient is to advance, it simply take the seeding of its opponent. Prior to the draws, CONCACAF may form "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, but they are purely for convenience of the draw and do not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition. Teams from associations with political conflicts as decided by CONCACAF may not be drawn into the same tie.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 24 teams participated in the first qualifying round instead of the normal 32 teams. The top eight teams based on national coefficient earned byes to the second qualifying round. The lone preliminary round entrant the did not withdraw, Port City FC, automatically entered in the first round as an unseeded team. The remaining 16 teams were divided into two: both of eight teams, where four teams were seeded and four teams were unseeded.
A total of 24 teams were involved in the second qualifying round draw.
Champions Path: four teams entering in this round, and the 16 winners of the first qualifying round. They were divided into two groups of ten teams, where five teams were seeded and five teams were unseeded.
League Path: four teams entering in this round. Two teams were seeded and two teams were unseeded.
† Winners of the first qualifying round. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
A total of 20 teams were involved in the third qualifying round draw.
Champions Path: two teams entering in this round, and the 10 winners of the second qualifying round Champions Path. Six teams were seeded and six teams were unseeded.
League Path: six teams entering in this round, and the two winners of the second qualifying round League Path. Four teams were seeded and four teams were unseeded. Teams from Ukraine and Russia could not be drawn into the same tie, and if such a pairing was drawn or was set to be drawn in the final tie, the second team drawn in the current tie would be moved to the next tie.
† Winners of the second qualifying round. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
A total of 12 teams were involved in the play-off round draw.
Champions Path: two teams entering in this round, and the six winners of the third qualifying round Champions Path. Four teams were seeded and four teams were unseeded.
League Path: the four winners of the third qualifying round League Path. Two teams were seeded and two teams were unseeded.
† Winners of the third qualifying round. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
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Paradise
Real Rincon
Kicks United
Dynamos
Youths of the Future
St. Louis Stars
ASPSB
Port City
CUW champion
Bayamón
Hope International
Western Tigers
Robinhood
118'
Once Deportivo
La Horquetta Rangers
Mount Pleasant
Managua