Club Leon ban from Club World Cup upheld: Los Angeles FC and Club America playoff to determine replacement

After being banned from the FIFA Club World Cup due to multi-club ownership rules, Club Leon has lost their appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport and will need to be replaced at the tournament which will begin on June 14. To replace Leon in Group D alongside Chelsea, Flamengo, and Esperance Sportive de Tunis, FIFA has announced a one-game playoff between Los Angeles FC and Club America to determine that last spot.

These teams were determined due to LAFC being the runner-up to Leon in the 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup and Club America being the top-ranked team in the FIFA Club World Cup confederation rankings. This playoff creates quite the opportunity for these teams as each Concacaf club participating in the tournament will receive $9.55 million in prize money from FIFA. This is before being able to win $2 million per win and $1 million per draw during the group stage.

It's quite a sum for any club, and is more than either can earn via their respective leagues, adding additional pressure to that playoff match. According to GiveMeSport, LAFC will host the playoff match at BMO Stadium on May 31. LAFC currently has a match facing the Colorado Rapids scheduled for that day, while Club America will be free as the Liga MX Clausura playoffs will have concluded by then.

"FIFA welcomes the decision taken by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to reject the appeals of CF Pachuca, Club León and Asociación Liga Deportiva Alajuelense in relation to the FIFA Club World Cup 2025," FIFA said in a statement.

Leon's ban stems from both Leon and Pachuca being owned by Pachuca Group. With plans to put Leon up for sale not materializing in time, only one of those teams could participate in the tournament and the one that will continue is Pachuca. Pachuca and Leon's appeal to CAS was based around both clubs still complying with the Club World Cup eligibility to participate but it was deemed not to be the case.

Costa Rican side Alajuelense also filed an appeal with CAS that if one of Leon or Pachuca were removed form the tournament that they should be the team to replace them. CAS did hear that case before rejecting it. That rejection leaves it in FIFA's hands for how the empty spot in Group D will be filled.

Alongside other clubs taking part in the tournament, Leon had beefed up their roster adding James Rodriguez to the side but while he won't have a chance to lead them to a Club World Cup title, he will have a chance to lead them to a Liga MX Clausura title as they'll take on Cruz Azul in the quarterfinals on Thursday in that tournament.