León se queda fuera del Mundial de Clubes 2025 tras perder batalla legal
Club León of Liga MX has lost its legal battle against FIFA and will not participate in the 2025 Club World Cup.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling dismissed the appeal filed by Club León, Club Pachuca, and the Costa Rican club Asociación Liga Deportiva Alajuelense, regarding FIFA’s decision to replace the Liga MX team in the tournament.
Originally, Club León had earned a place in the international tournament after winning the Concacaf Champions Cup 2023.
However, FIFA ruled that the team should be disqualified due to a breach of the multiple ownership rules.
Grupo Pachuca, owner of Pachuca and León, tried to reverse the decision by presenting a case before the CAS, but was unsuccessful.
All resources were consolidated into a single CAS case that was heard at the CAS headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, on May 5, 2025… The CAS Panel issued an Operative Decision dismissing the three appeals and ruled that Pachuca and Club León did not meet the criteria established in the Regulations of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 (Art. 10.1) in relation to the ownership of multiple clubs.
CAS
The legal conflict unfolded in Switzerland five months after FIFA allowed León to participate in the tournament draw in Miami, despite the pending multi-club ownership issue.
The sentence was harsh, the rivals very influential, the pressure intense and what was at stake very high.
Club León
The Club de Fútbol Pachuca, owned by Grupo Pachuca, was indeed authorized to participate after securing a spot by winning the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup.
FIFA will now hold a playoff match between Club América and LAFC.
LAFC would participate as the runner-up of Club León in the 2023 Concacaf Champions League, through which Club León had qualified.
Club América would participate as the highest-ranked team in the confederation ranking for the FIFA Club World Cup, through which the classification is also determined. The winner of the playoff would qualify unless legal proceedings dictate otherwise.
The date and location of the playoff game have not yet been determined.
The winner of the match will replace Club León in Group D of the Club World Cup, facing Chelsea FC, Flamengo and ES Tunis.
