The CONCACAF Championship, also known as CONCACAF Nations Championship, was an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
The tournament was held from 1963 to 1989; it was the direct predecessor of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Prior to the founding of CONCACAF in 1961, the predecessor confederations (NAFC and CCCF) organized their top senior national team tournaments, NAFC Championship for North America (1947 and 1949), and CCCF Championship for Central America and the Caribbean (1941–1961) before the merged to form CONCACAF.
The inaugural edition was held in 1963 and was CONCACAF's first tournament for national teams. The competition retained its tournament format and was played on a biennial basis for a decade.
In 1973 the tournament became the qualifying tournament for the FIFA World Cup and was played on a quadrennial basis. The CONCACAF trophy was given to the team that ranked highest in the qualifying group. In 1985 and 1989, there was no host nation for the competition.
In this ranking 2 points are awarded for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss. As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws. Teams are ranked by total points, then by goal difference, then by goals scored.
