The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) handed down their verdict on Tuesday in the case of Club León against FIFA, and unfortunately for the Liga MX outfit, they have sided with FIFA. León were appealing their expulsion from this summer’s Club World Cup due to their shared ownership structure with another participant, Club Pachuca.
So, with FIFA’s own decision upheld about their own tournament, León are now officially out, and will be replaced by either Los Angeles FC (LAFC) or another Liga MX side, Club América. These two are set to play a one-off playoff (play-in?) at the end of the month, at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on May 31.
The winner of that game will face Chelsea a couple weeks later, in Atlanta on Friday, June 16, in the first group stage game.
Chelsea’s other two games in the group stage of the tournament will be in Philadelphia, against Flamengo on Friday, June 20, and ES Tunis the following Tuesday, June 24.
A one-match playoff is set to be played by LAFC and Club América to determine the final spot in the 2025 Club World Cup, per @tombogert and @JacobsBen
The match will be played at BMO Stadium on May 31st and the winner will replace Club Leon in this summer's Club WC. pic.twitter.com/mRWlcMLWKY
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) May 6, 2025