Club León kicked out of the Club World Cup

Months before the Club World Cup begins, FIFA has made a controversial ruling: Mexican team Club León is out. Their shared ownership with Pachuca violates FIFA regulations prohibiting multi-club ownership groups in their competitions. On March 21, FIFA released a statement that announced Club León would be removed from the tournament, but did not name a replacement. 

Rumors were swirling about potential replacement teams even before the announcement. Fans everywhere want their team to claim that final group-stage spot. Could it be Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr? Barcelona? Maybe even the Philadelphia Union? 

Actually, yes. It should be the Philadelphia Union.

Who could take their spot?

While some might find Philadelphia’s participation unlikely, the club is the fourth highest ranked club in CONCACAF, according to FIFA. Union beat reporter José Nuñez wrote about the possibility for Carnell’s side to make the competition in November. The Union are ranked higher than both the Seattle Sounders and Inter Miami, who are ranked 9th and 21st respectively on FIFA’s list. 

Club World Cup spots go first to continental champions from the past four years. The remaining places go to the highest-ranked clubs in each confederation. Think about the following European clubs who did not win the Champions League but earned a spot in the competition due to this rule: Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, PSG etc.

By using FIFA’s own rules, the highest ranked team that has not already qualified for the Club World Cup would gain entry to the tournament. The highest ranked team in the CONCACAF ranking not qualified for the tournament is Club América. Instead of giving the Mexican team a chance in the tournament, FIFA have decided to ignore their own rules for qualification.

The Guardian has reported that FIFA is considering a play-off between two teams to determine the last entrant in the competition. They also reported that the “general secretariat” decides who would replace a team that is disqualified from the Club World Cup. Typically, the teams that qualify in our region would do so by winning the CONCACAF Champions Cup or by ranking as the highest team to not win the tournament. Thus, the next-highest team by rankings would be Club América of Mexico— but FIFA has desires to include another MLS team. The team in the rankings after Club América is the Philadelphia Union, which should put them in the position to qualify if FIFA wants another MLS team, right?

No. Sadly for Philadelphia fans, it seems as though the club has been overlooked by FIFA for another MLS team: LAFC. According to The Guardian, FIFA is considering a play-off between LAFC and Club América to determine the last possible spot in this summer’s Club World Cup. While these are the teams being reported, a case can be made for Philadelphia to take their place.

“…Fifa said LAFC was selected for the playoff because of its status as runner-up to León in the 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup. Club América, meanwhile, was selected due to being ‘the top-ranked team in the Fifa Club World Cup confederation ranking through which qualification is also determined,’…” – Alexander Abnos, The Guardian

According to ESPN, no official decision will be made until Club León makes their final appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport on April 23. For context, LAFC ranks 10th on FIFA’s list of CONCACAF clubs. 

Entry based on merit?

Is the possible play-off a fair way to decide which team takes Club León’s spot in FIFA’s revamped club competition? While the team from California did finish as finalists against Club León in 2023, that was their only appearance in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (or it’s predecessor CONCACAF Champions League) during the last four seasons. The Philadelphia Union have participated in the competition three out of the last four occurrences. 

LAFC did not win the CONCACAF Champions Cup and they are not the next highest ranked team in FIFA’s CONCACAF rankings. Losing a final is not a way to determine if a team should gain entry to the competition—if it was, Liverpool would have qualified over other lower ranked UEFA clubs. 

Therefore, LAFC should not get the final spot if León’s appeal fails. Their single CONCACAF final appearance does not justify entry. If FIFA hands LAFC a spot, they will be blatantly disregarding their own rules.

While Club América appears next in line, a closer look at the regulations reveals a stronger case for the Union.

Rules of the tournament could help the Union

In FIFA’s own regulations, there are not allowed to be more than two teams from one country in the tournament, unless those teams qualified by winning their respective continental cup. Mexico had three CONCACAF Champions Cup winners, thereby exempting them from the two-team requirement. That being said, adding Club América would make them a third Mexican team, even though they did not win the cup— breaking FIFA rules. If Club América receive entry into the tournament it would be by breaking FIFA’s own rules, as the team should not be allowed because they did not win the Champions Cup.

If Club América is allowed into the Club World Cup, it would be reasonable for fans of Liverpool, Barcelona, and many other teams to be upset that their clubs did not qualify. England had two teams win the Champions League in the last four years: Manchester City and Chelsea FC. Due to FIFA’s rules, no other English team could qualify unless they won the Champions League. As a result, Liverpool—a team that made the final in the 2021/22 season—did not qualify. As you can see, making an exception for Club América would not be fair to teams like Liverpool who were more than deserving of a spot. Liverpool is the UEFA club with the highest ranking not in the tournament.

That would mean that the Union cannot qualify either, because Inter Miami and the Seattle Sounders have already qualified, right? It is true, those teams put the United States at a maximum of two teams. This is exactly what Costa Rican club Alajuelense are hoping for. They are aiming to take the spot of Club León in the Club World Cup. As the highest ranked non-American or Mexican team, they believe that the spot is rightfully theirs. That being said, the US might be allowed more than two participants in the Club World Cup. 

Two spots plus the hosts?

If Inter Miami’s qualification as a team from the host country does not count against the rule regarding two teams from one country, then the Philadelphia Union should qualify for the Club World Cup as the next highest ranked team not from Mexico. In the past, this is how it has worked in FIFA tournaments. In 2023, there were two teams from Asia competing in the competition, even though only one could qualify. The reason for this is due to the host nation slot. This slot lets the host country have a team of their own competing in the competition, even though they have not won a continental competition. 

In past FIFA tournaments, host nation slots did not count toward confederation quotas. If the same applies here, Philadelphia should be eligible as the next highest-ranked club, even with two U.S. teams already in the competition.

As a little exercise, imagine if Spain hosted the Club World Cup, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid could both qualify on merit, while Barcelona could enter as the host’s representative—without breaking the two-team limit. The same logic should apply for Inter Miami and Philadelphia.

Final Conclusion

In sum, it can be assumed that the Philadelphia Union are deserving of the final spot in the Club World Cup should Club León’s appeal fail on April 23rd. With that being said, it is FIFA and they have the ability to pick whichever team they want as a replacement. As with Inter Miami’s qualification from the host country, it might be more of a popularity contest than a decision of merit. With this competition already under scrutiny from the world, shouldn’t they abide by the regulations that they set?

The decision FIFA makes for this final spot will set a precedent for the future of the competition. Will they ignore their own rules and give the spot to LAFC or Club América?

Or will they make the fair, merit-based decision—and give our Philadelphia Union a chance to prove they belong on the world’s biggest stage?