[1] Monterrey of Mexico won their first title, defeating Real Salt Lake of the United States 3-2 on aggregate in the final.

After having analyzed previous results, the CONCACAF Executive Committee approved a reallocation of berths compared to the previous two seasons, giving Panama one automatic place in the group stage while making both of El Salvador's qualifiers go through the preliminary round.

1 Berths originally awarded to Belize (Belize Defence Force) and Nicaragua (Real Estelí), but both countries failed CONCACAF stadium requirements, so the spots vacated were awarded to Honduras (Motagua) and Panama (San Francisco) based on the performances of clubs from those countries last season.

The eight winners of the aggregate series qualified along with the eight seeded teams that earned a direct spot to enter the group stage.

The top two teams from each group advanced to the quarterfinals of the Championship Round, which consisted of two-legged, home and away, knockout fixtures.

The draw for the preliminary round and the group stage was held on May 19, 2010, at the CONCACAF headquarters in New York City.