The Club World Cup is set to see another 'invitee.'
According to reports, Liga MX giant, Club América, has become the ‘favorite’ to replace a Liga MX club in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup next summer, this after FIFA’s recently-announced regulations for the tournament.
Club América Club World Cup invitation — will the Liga MX giants make an unexpected appearance?
León and Pachuca, winners of the 2023 and 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup respectively, are managed by the same ownership group (Grupo Pachuca) and according to Article 10 of the FIFA regulations, “no individual or legal entity may have control or influence over more than one club participating in the Competition…” and will prohibit the simultaneous participation of the clubs in the newly expanded tournament. It’s going to be one or the other.
This provision, as stated by FIFA in the same set of regulations, would force the organization to fill the spot with another club from the same confederation. And by the looks of it, they’re set to pick arguably the biggest non-American club in the United States — Club América.
The ‘Concacaf-invitee’ would be chosen by FIFA, with “ranking(s) of the club(s) and the applicable quote per confederation and/or member association to which the club(s) concerned is/are affiliated” being taken into account.
As of today, Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew — ‘snubbed’ from a spot earlier this Fall with the invitation of Inter Miami — is atop of the CONCACAF rankings and is also one of the strong candidates to replace either León or Pachuca.
However, they are followed in the rankings by Club América in second place — with the Mexican club’s current ranking, along with their huge fan base and marketing potential in the United States, being a huge factor in FIFA’s potential decision-making process.
Las Águilas are frequently taking advantage of their fandom in the U.S., religiously playing friendly matches and selling-out stadiums during international breaks — making it ‘very hard’ for FIFA to choose another club over the Mexican giants. It is also important to note that Club América defeated the Columbus Crew in the Campeones Cup (not recognized by Concacaf) last September, crowing the azulcremas as the best Liga MX or MLS club of the year.
This would come after the organization’s controversial invitation of Inter Miami, reportedly motivated by the imminent participation of world-renowned Lionel Messi, along with Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba in the tournament — all strong ticket-buying motivators for the tournament’s first edition.
The 2025 Club World Cup will take place from June 15 to July 13.
