Los Angeles FC and Liga MX’s América will compete on May 31 at BMO Stadium to replace Club León at the FIFA Club World Cup, following León’s disqualification due to multi-club ownership rules. The Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed León’s appeal against FIFA’s decision. The playoff winner will secure almost $10 million from the Club World Cup’s $1 billion prize fund and will face Chelsea, Esperance, and Flamengo in the tournament starting June 14. FIFA confirmed the match’s significance in determining León’s replacement group for the 2025 tournament.
On May 31, Los Angeles FC will take on Liga MX’s América at LAFC’s BMO Stadium. The match will determine who replaces Club León in the upcoming 32-team Club World Cup, confirmed by a source to ESPN.
Club León lost its legal battle against FIFA on Tuesday, officially disqualifying them from the Club World Cup due to FIFA’s rules regarding multi-club ownership.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport stated its judges denied León’s attempt to overturn FIFA’s decision to remove them from the tournament over shared ownership with another Club World Cup participant, Pachuca.
León qualified for the tournament by winning the 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup.
“All appeals were merged into one CAS case that was heard at the CAS headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, on May 5, 2025…” CAS noted in a statement. “The CAS Panel has issued an Operative Decision dismissing the three appeals and determined that Pachuca and Club León did not meet the criteria set by the Regulations for the FIFA World Cup Club 2025 (Art. 10.1) regarding multiple club ownership.”
This legal matter unfolded in Switzerland five months after FIFA allowed León to participate in the tournament draw in Miami while the multi-club ownership issue remained pending.
“The ruling was severe, the opponents highly influential, the pressure was immense, and the stakes were extraordinarily high,” stated Club León. “But the ones who have endured the most are our fans and players; they deserve greater respect from an organization dedicated to promoting sports. From the start, there was no sporting rationale in this case.”
Grupo Pachuca’s Club de Fútbol Pachuca remains eligible to compete after securing their place by winning the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup.
The victor of the playoff between LAFC and América is set to receive nearly $10 million from the Club World Cup’s $1 billion prize money fund. The date and location of the playoff were initially reported by GiveMeSport.
The tournament is scheduled to commence on June 14.
“FIFA supports the decision made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to dismiss the appeals from CF Pachuca, Club León, and Asociación Liga Deportiva Alajuelense concerning the FIFA Club World Cup 2025,” FIFA stated.
“In accordance with the relevant tournament regulations, FIFA has determined that the replacement team for Club León will be chosen through a playoff match between Los Angeles FC (runners-up to Club León in the 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup) and Club América (the top-ranked team in the FIFA Club World Cup confederation ranking at the end of the 2024 edition of the Concacaf Champions Cup, the last season considered for club qualification for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025).
“The winners will automatically qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 and will assume Club León’s position in Group D.”
The winner will face Chelsea in Atlanta on June 16, followed by Esperance from Tunisia in Nashville, and Flamengo of Brazil in Orlando.
Information for this report was sourced from ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle and The Associated Press.