Surprising selection of teams that could replace Club León in the 2025 Club World Cup

The expulsion of Club León from the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, due to non-compliance with the tournament regulations in the area of multiple ownership, has generated all kinds of speculation about which team will take its place. Some enthusiasts opened a glimmer of hope that attractive teams like FC Barcelona or Liverpool, great European teams in good form, would be invited to fill this spot. However, regulatory issues posed serious inconveniences.

It is worth remembering that the competition regulations are clear that there cannot be more than two teams from the same country, unless they have qualified as champions of the main club competition in the confederation, such as the UEFA Champions League, in the period between 2021 and 2024. Given this, the presence of teams like FC Barcelona (with Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid already having their tickets secured) and Liverpool (with Chelsea and Manchester City) seemed unlikely.

Moreover, there is an unavoidable reality: for sporting fairness, if the team excluded from the 2025 Club World Cup belongs to CONCACAF, it would be most logical to replace it with another team from that confederation, to not take away one of the four spots that it is entitled to by regulation. Now, everything seems to indicate that this will be the case, as, although the FIFA Appeals Commission revealed that it would announce the substitute for Club León in due time, information is already circulating that narrows down which team could take this spot.

Los Angeles FC and Club América would compete for Club León's spot in the 2025 Club World Cup

According to reports from the EFE Agency, a source from FIFA stated that the option of playing a match to determine the substitute for Club León is gaining strength, even mentioning the two teams with the best chances of being part of this duel. "FIFA can confirm that it is considering a 'play-off' match between Los Angeles FC and Club América for the right to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, in place of Club León (...) More details will be provided in due time," a spokesperson stated.

Additionally, relevant explanations were provided regarding the selection of these two teams. "LAFC would participate in the match because it was the runner-up in the 2023 CONCACAF Champions Cup, which was won by León. Club América would participate because it is the highest-ranked team from CONCACAF in the FIFA Club World Cup ranking," the FIFA spokesperson added to EFE.

FC Barcelona and several other clubs are left without options to compete for this spot

With this in mind, the uncertainty about which teams have the best chances of securing Club León's spot seems practically resolved. In this context, logic prevails, as a CONCACAF team would remain in the tournament.

It could be a Mexican club, replacing another from the same country and maintaining the quota of three (Monterrey and Pachuca), or another American team, which would give one more spot to MLS teams, which already have two representatives: Seattle Sounders and Inter Miami. This, in turn, would leave the Liga Deportiva Alajuelense from Costa Rica out of the running, a team that was mentioned as a possible candidate for the spot due to its position in the CONCACAF ranking, not counting the teams from Mexico and the United States. It is worth noting that this Costa Rican team was the one that raised the complaint to FIFA regarding the multiple ownership of Club León.