FIFA shocks with last spot in Club World Cup: $10 million deciding match

On May 7, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled against Club Leon (Mexico)'s appeal to re-enter the Club World Cup, paving the way for FIFA to hold the final match worth 10 million USD.

Why did FIFA organize the play-off match between Los Angeles FC and Club America instead of Club Leon?

FIFA has disqualified Club Leon for a conflict of interest involving "one owner of many teams", when determining that this Mexican club (winner of the CONCACAF Champions League 2023) has the same owner as Pachuca (winner of the CONCACAF Champions League 2024), both of whom have a place in the Club World Cup 2025 on June 14.

FIFA's Club World Cup is so lucrative that every club wants to participate.

Photo: Reuters

Club Leon appealed to CAS, arguing that the club had been placed in a sufficiently large trust fund, eliminating any conflict between the two parties (Pachuca) in the Club World Cup. However, CAS rejected this argument, stating that both teams had the same owner and were members of the Grupo Pachuca group.

FIFA decided to disqualify Club Leon, while retaining Pachuca's place. To fill this vacant spot, the world football body chose the second-placed team of the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League, Los Angeles FC (USA), to compete with Mexico's Club America (ranked first in the CONCACAF club rankings) in just one match, with the winner securing the final spot in the Club World Cup.

The winner between Los Angeles FC and Club America will also be placed in Group D in place of Club Leon, along with Chelsea, Flamengo and ES Tunis (of Tunisia).

According to GiveMeSport , FIFA has decided to hold the play-off match between Los Angeles FC and Club America on May 31 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles (USA).

This match is worth up to 10 million USD, because the winning team participating in the Club World Cup will be divided by FIFA according to the announced regulations, that is, the clubs in the CONCACAF region will receive this amount as a tournament participation fee. The rest will be divided based on the performance.

Los Angeles FC currently has two of the world's top players in the squad, veteran goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and striker Olivier Giroud, both from the French national team. If they qualify, they will be the third club from the host country, the US, to participate in the tournament, after Seattle Sounders FC and Inter Miami (the host's representative).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/fifa-gay-soc-voi-suat-cuoi-du-club-world-cup-tran-dau-quyet-dinh-10-trieu-usd-185250507110237266.htm