CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship

The CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship is a regional soccer competition for the under-20 women's national teams of CONCACAF member countries. Founded in 2002, it also serves as the qualifying tournament for the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.

Typically held biennially, the tournament aligns with the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup schedule, taking place in the same year or the preceding year. However, this is not always the case. For instance, the 2015 and 2018 tournaments, which served as qualifiers for the 2016 and 2018 World Cups, were separated by three years. Conversely, the 2022 and 2023 competitions occurred consecutively in preparation for the 2022 and 2024 World Cups.

The number of participants has fluctuated over the years, expanding from eight to 20 in 2022, and then returning to eight in 2023. In this format, teams are divided into two groups of four, with each team playing every other team in its group. The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals, where all four semifinalists qualify for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. The knockout stage follows a single-elimination format, culminating in a final for the CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship crown.

The inaugural CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship did not feature a championship final, so there was no official winner. Instead, the USA and Mexico qualified for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup as group winners. While Canada won the first title, the USA has dominated the tournament since then, winning all but four of the subsequent eleven editions.