América, LAFC could play for CWC spot, FIFA says

FIFA has drawn up plans to hold a one-game playoff between Club América and LAFC to determine a replacement team for León at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, the world soccer governing body told ESPN in a statement on Sunday.

León was removed from the Club World Cup on March 23 when FIFA ruled that its inclusion would violate competition rules preventing two clubs with the same owner from taking part in the tournament. León is owned by Grupo Pachuca, which also owns fellow Liga MX side Pachuca.

“In line with article 10 paragraph four of the regulations for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, FIFA has determined that Club León will be removed from the competition, with the club to be admitted as a replacement to be announced in due course,” FIFA said in a statement on March 21.

The plans for the playoff would be set in motion if León loses its appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to be reinstated to the Club World Cup.

CAS announced a hearing would be held on April 23 in Madrid, Spain, for both León and Costa Rican side Liga Deportiva Alajuelense to present their arguments. Alajuelense originally submitted the complaint to CAS, citing that León’s participation violated the FIFA regulations and arguing they should receive a spot in the tournament instead.

Now, both clubs have until April 2 to gather legal documentation before presenting arguments on the 23rd. No plans of a replacement will be announced until each legal case is resolved.

“LAFC would participate as runner-up to Club Léon in the 2023 Concacaf Champions League through which Club Léon had qualified,” FIFA’s statement on Sunday said. “Club América would participate as the top-ranked team in the FIFA Club World Cup confederation ranking through which qualification is also determined.

“The winner of the play-off would qualify unless legal proceedings rule otherwise.”

There had been some precedent for this approach, given that the UEFA ranking pathway is how Red Bull Salzburg got into the Club World Cup since Real Madrid had won two of the previous UEFA Champions League titles.

The scenario is still dependent entirely on an unsuccessful appeal by León on FIFA’s March 21st ruling.

Representatives from LAFC declined to comment, while América issued the following statement on Monday: “Regarding recent press reports regarding a possible match between América and another team to determine who could qualify for the Club World Cup, please note: América has not been formally notified by FIFA or any other sports authority regarding a possible participation in the Club World Cup. Should any relevant information become available, we will be the first to share it with the public.

“The team is focused and working toward a title in the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup and the 2025 Liga MX Clausura tournament.”

The 32-team Club World Cup is set to begin on June 14, with the final being held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. on July 13.

ESPN Mexico’s Omar Flores Aldana contributing to the report.