COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Columbus Crew will be looking to run it back in the continental competition it nearly won last year.
The Black & Gold are once again set to compete in the CONCACAF Champions Cup and thanks to the Leagues Cup title win in 2024, they will skip the opening round of the competition. Columbus is one of five clubs that earned a bye into the Round of 16 and now knows who they could play to open the tournament.
The 27-team bracket for the 2025 tournament was drawn Tuesday night and the top-seeded Crew will play the winner of the first-round series between Los Angeles FC and the Colorado Rapids in the round of 16. Each round of the competition besides the final will be played over two legs. The Crew’s first leg in the round of 16 will be on Mar. 4, 5, or 6 and the second leg on Mar. 11, 12, or 13.
Joining the Black & Gold in the Round of 16 is MLS Cup winners LA Galaxy, Mexican champions Club America, Central American champions Alajuelense from Costa Rica, and Jamaican club Cavalier, the winners of the Caribbean Cup.
2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup bracket
Click here to download the full bracket
Columbus made it all the way to the final in last year’s Champions Cup, the first time in club history it accomplished that feat. After defeating the Houston Dynamo in the round of 16, the Crew defeated Mexican clubs Tigres and Monterrey to get to the final. Mexican club Pachuca beat a Crew side suffering from illness 3-0 in the final to also qualify for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
If FIFA is to hold the same qualification structure, the winner of this year’s Champions Cup would qualify for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup. The 2025 MLS regular season schedule is scheduled to be released sometime in December for a late February start to the new campaign.