Club América and LAFC will face off in a playoff match to determine the final qualifier for the 2025 Club World Cup.
Just over a month after the expulsion of Club León from the 2025 Club World Cup was confirmed, FIFA has reportedly made the decision to play a match between the two possible replacements to occupy the last available place for the championship that will begin in mid-June.
According to information provided by Mexican journalist David Medrano on TV Azteca, Club América has already been notified by FIFA about the playoff match against LAFC to determine the last qualifier for the 2025 Club World Cup.
The match is scheduled to be played on May 21 in California, three weeks before the official start of the competition and 26 days prior to the first match scheduled for Club León’s replacement in the World Cup. In case of complications with the date, the match would be rescheduled for May 28.
CAS decision still pending
In any case, and before the dispute of the match, the decision of the CAS to the appeal made by Club León and by Pacucha still remains to be known. In the week of May 5, the Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear the arguments of both Mexican clubs to see if it reverses the decision of FIFA.
For its part, FIFA, the organizing body of the tournament, already responded to Club León at the time, pointing out the two points for which they decided to expel the Mexican team from the competition:
- CF Pachuca and Club León do not meet the criteria defined in Article 10.1 of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Regulations.
- The FIFA General Secretariat will decide which club may be admitted to the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 and how the non-admitted club will be replaced, in accordance with Article 10.4 of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Regulations.
