The 1997 CONCACAF Champions' Cup was the 33rd edition of the annual international club

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

competition, the

CONCACAF Champions' Cup The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, a ...

. It determined that year's club champion of the

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...

region (North America, Central America and the Caribbean). The teams were split into three zones (North, Central and Caribbean). The North American zone qualified three teams direct into the quarterfinals and two teams played a play-off for the fourth spot in the quarterfinals. The Central American zone played a regional tournament to get three 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 professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

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

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

, 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 S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

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

Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

. At the time, Mexican goalkeeper Jorge Campos was signed to the Galaxy and Cruz Azul. 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

CFU Club Championship final

* United Petrotrin advance to the quarterfinal

Quarterfinal Qualified teams

North American zone

*Major League Soccer: : D.C. United – 1996 MLS Cup winner
:

– preliminary round winner (1996 MLS Cup runner-up) *Primera División de México: :

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

– 1997 Verano winner
:

– 1996 CONCACAF Champions Cup title holder

Central American zone

*Central American Qualifiers:
C.S. Cartaginés – Second Round Series winner
C.D. Luis Ángel Firpo – Second Round Series winner
CSD Comunicaciones – 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 ye ...

Preliminary Regional playoffs

North American Zone

Central American Zone

Preliminary round

First round

Second round

Caribbean Zone

CFU Club Championship final

Quarterfinal Qualified teams

North American zone

Central American zone

Caribbean zone

Bracket

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Third place match

Final

Champion

References