The 1997 CONCACAF Champions' Cup was the 33rd. edition of the annual international club football competition held in the

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typese ...

region (North America, Central America and the Caribbean), the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. It determined that year's club champion of

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

in the CONCACAF region. The teams were split into 3 zones (North, Central and Caribbean). The North American zone qualified 3 teams direct into the quarterfinals and 2 teams played a play-off to get a 4th spot in the quarterfinals. The Central American zone played a regional tournament to get 3 spots in the quarterfinal. The winner of the Caribbean zone got a place in the quarterfinals. 1997 was the first year that teams from the United States' premier league,

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

, took part in the Champions' Cup. The competitors in the

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...

, both winner and runner-up, were each given berths in the tournament. All but two of the eight games played in the final tournament were played in Washington, D.C.. The final was won by

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...

, who captured their fifth Champions' Cup title with a 5–3 victory over the

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

. The Galaxy were the first American club to reach the final of a Champions' Cup since 1984.

Preliminary Regional playoffs

North American Zone

*Los Angeles Galaxy advance to the quarterfinal. ----

Central American Zone

Preliminary round

First round

Second round

*Comunicaciones, Luis Ángel Firpo and Cartaginés advance to the quarterfinal. Cartaginés vs Alajuelense played in one leg in San José. ----

Caribbean Zone

1997 CFU Club Championship

Group 1

Group 2

Qualifying playoff

*United Petrotrin advance to the quarterfinal.

Quarterfinal Qualified teams

North American zone

*Major League Soccer:

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

- 1996 MLS Cup winner

- 1996 MLS Cup Runner Up *Primera División de México:

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

- 1997 Verano winner

- 1996 CONCACAF Champions League Title Holders

Central American zone

*Central American Qualifiers:
C.S. Cartaginés - Second Round Series winner
C.D. Luis Ángel Firpo - Second Round Series winner

CSD Comunicaciones Comunicaciones Fútbol Club S.A., better known as Comunicaciones F.C. or Comunicaciones, are a football club based in Guatemala City. They compete in the Liga Nacional, the top tier of Guatemalan football. The most popular and successful footba ...

- Second Round Series winner

Caribbean zone

*Caribbean Football Union (CFU):

United Petrotrin United Petrotrin Football Club was a football club from Trinidad and Tobago and a former member of the TT Pro League of Trinidad. It was dissolved in 2009. History Formed in 1980, ''Trintoc'' entered the Point Fortin Football League that same y ...

Preliminary Regional playoffs

North American Zone

Central American Zone

Preliminary round

First round

Second round

Caribbean Zone

Group 1

Group 2

Qualifying playoff

Quarterfinal Qualified teams

North American zone

Central American zone

Caribbean zone

Bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Third place match

Final

Champion

References