The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will be an expanded version of the Club World Cup, previously held annually and now to be played every four years, featuring 32 clubs from around the globe, mimicking the World Cup with international teams, in a view to revolutionize club football. The tournament will be hosted in the United States, also one of the co-host of the 2026 Men’s international World Cup, starting in June 2025. Despite the curiosity behind the tournament, the launch of a new expanded competition has brought criticisms with it regarding scheduling, fixture congestion, player welfare, contracts etc with the league and continental football eating a large chunk of the football calendar.
However, there has been one controversy that has sounded the most in months building up to the tournament which involves participation of a team in the tournament. Mexican outfit Club Leon has been the center-stage of a case that has turned the pages of FIFA rule book and also went to the court. All of this happened when the draw for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 was already made in December last year. The global football’s governing body had to scramble for a solution with the competition knocking on the door to prevent the inaugural edition from having the uneasiness of starting with a one-less participant.
How did Club Leon qualify for the tournament?
Liga MX side Club Leon made it to the group stages of the Club World Cup 2025 by winning the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League defeating MLS side Los Angeles FC in the final over two-legs. It was their first silverware in this tournament. The club, who have a certain James Rodriguez in their arsenal, registered a 3-1 aggregate victory in the straight knockout competition. Leon were due to face 2021 Champions League winners Chelsea, 2022 Copa Libertadores winners Flamengo and Tunis However, they faced expulsion from the competition in which they would have appeared for only the second time.
What is the Club Leon controversy?
Club Leon is owned by Grupo Pachuca, which also owns Pachuca, another participant in the tournament. According to FIFA regulations, multiple clubs under the same ownership are prohibited from competing in the same tournament under their affiliation. FIFA stated that Leon and Pachuca failed to meet the criteria regarding ownership of multiple clubs forcing the former to withdraw from the contest. The decision to allow both teams under the same owners to compete in the Club World Cup was first challenged by Costa Rican club Deportiva Alajuelense who believed in their place in the contest should any of Pachuca and Leon be disqualified.
FIFA initiated an investigation in November 2024, a month ahead of the tournament draw, through an independent committee allowing both club’s representatives to show whether they operate as independent entities which they eventually failed. The owner José de Jesús Martínez Patiño said that he told FIFA about selling control of Leon to allow them play in the Club World Cup 2025 but no change in the share distribution or movement to find new investors were made leading to Los Esmeraldas dismissal in March 2025 ruling after they were already drawn for the group stages. As Pachuca was first bought by Patiño in 1995, their participation was not affected.
FIFA Rule and CAS Ruling
The FIFA regulation around multiple club ownership which was introduced in 2024 reads in Article 10 that "No individual or legal entity may control or exert influence over more than one club participating in the competition". Patiño is said to be holding a 55% stake in Leon while appearing as the owner of 50% of the club's shares in Pachuca. This was considered by the governing body as being influential over both club’s decision making in addition to being a shareholder. Hence, Leon was excluded due to the breach of the regulation.
Club León appealed the decision to CAS or Court of Arbitration for Sports where disputes related to sports are heard arguing that the regulation prohibiting multi-club ownership did not exist when they qualified for the Club World Cup in 2023. The court also heard the case filed by Alajuelense that one of the two teams be disqualified and the vacant place awarded to the Costa Rican club. However, CAS rejected León’s appeal finding them failing to meet the criteria set by FIFA staying on the latter’s decision of expulsion.
This decision sparked debate, with some questioning the consistency of FIFA’s enforcement, noting that Major League Soccer (MLS) operates as a single-entity league, potentially raising similar ownership concerns for clubs like Seattle Sounders and Inter Miami, yet no MLS teams were removed. Alajuelense were also left disappointed as their intention to get into the competition did not materialise as FIFA considered a different strategy to fill up the vacant spot.
Who will replace Club Leon?
FIFA has decided to conduct a one-off playoff match between Los Angeles FC and Club America to fill up the void after Club Leon’s expulsion. Both teams have high-rankings in CONCACAF, the football governing body in North America, due to their performance in recent competitions which is one of the ways to qualify for the new 32-team format for the Club World Cup. US based LAFC ended as runners-up in 2023 CONCACAF Championship while the Mexican heavyweights Club America is the the top-ranked team in the CONCACAF confederation ranking at the conclusion of the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup.
The playoff match will be held on 31 May 2025 with the winners taking the vacant spot in Group D and playing the opening group game against Premier League giants Chelsea. Qualifying for the Club World Cup 2025 will be of utmost importance for both the sides as getting into the tournament will help them pocket a whopping $9.55 million, transformative financial figure for either side, with more in store if they progress further. Hence, the playoff tie will be an intense battle.
