2025 Club World Cup: FIFA president Gianni Infantino names MLS team as possible replacement for Leon

A few weeks ago, FIFA officially announced that James Rodriguez’s Club Leon would be excluded from the 2025 Club World Cup due to a breach of competition rules regarding multi-club ownership, since Pachuca—who also qualified—are part of the same ownership group. Now Gianni Infantino has spoken about the potential candidates to replace them.

In a recent interview shared by reporter Carlos Nava on his X account, the FIFA president addressed the situation. “Well, the case of Leon will be decided by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, on May 5 or 6. So in a couple of weeks we’ll have the final and definitive decision, which of course we’re going to respect,” Gianni began.

“If the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirms the decision of FIFA’s Appeals Committee, what’s being considered is possibly playing a match, a playoff,” Infantino revealed regarding how FIFA may decide on Leon’s replacement in the tournament.

“The playoff would be between the team that lost the Concacaf Champions Cup final to Leon, which is LAFC, and the next team in the ranking, which is America,” said the FIFA president.

James Rodriguez is one of the biggest stars in Leon

LAFC have an unexpected opportunity

Los Angeles FC were runners-up in the 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup, losing the final to Leon by an aggregate score of 3-1. Now, with Leon potentially out of the competition, the California-based team has a historic opportunity on the horizon.

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Currently, LAFC sit seventh in the Major League Soccer Western Conference standings with 12 points from 4 wins and 4 losses. On the continental stage, they were recently eliminated from the Concacaf Champions Cup after falling in the quarterfinals to Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.

Where do America de Mexico stand right now?

The opportunity for Club America is just as surprising. They hadn’t met the necessary criteria to qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup, but if Leon’s exclusion is confirmed, they would find themselves with a golden chance—especially given their strong current form.

America are currently ranked fifth in the Concacaf club rankings and are the highest-ranked team among those not qualified for the Club World Cup. That’s the basis for their selection as a potential playoff opponent for Los Angeles FC.

They also sit second in the Liga MX standings with 30 points, just three behind leaders Toluca, and with one game in hand, which they’ll play this Wednesday against Monterrey. Like LAFC, they also made it to the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup, where they were eliminated by Cruz Azul.