In a move that shocked the soccer world, FIFA officially announced that Club León would not be allowed to participate in the 2025 Club World Cup, just months before the competition begins. The reason given for the Mexican club’s exclusion was based on a previously established rule prohibiting multiple ownership in the tournament.
According to FIFA’s rule, two or more teams owned by the same entity or company are not allowed to compete in the Club World Cup. Both León and Pachuca are part of the Grupo Pachuca. After discussions between both teams and FIFA, the decision was made to exclude León, the team that features James Rodríguez.
Club León is not backing down and, in a strongly worded statement, club president Jesús Martínez made his first public remarks since the expulsion. He argued that the situation was unjust, comparing their situation to the approach used by Manchester City Group in Europe, which allowed two of their teams to compete in the UEFA Champions League.
In an interview with ESPN Mexico, Martínez explained, “We did the same thing Girona and Manchester City did with UEFA to play in the Champions League: we established a Trust in the United States that guarantees absolute independence for Club León, but they did not accept it“.
James Rodriguez of Leon looks on during the 11th round match between Santos Laguna and Leon. (Manuel Guadarrama/Getty Images)
He continued, revealing how the news was broken to them. “No one has told us why Club León was excluded. What was the criteria? What were the reasons behind this decision? All we’ve been told is: ‘You’re out.’” He concluded with determination: “We’re going to fight this to the fullest, in every legal way possible, and we’ll do everything we can. We hope FIFA will reconsider”.
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James Rodriguez’s Club Leon break silence after being removed from FIFA Club World Cup 2025
Which teams could be candidates to replace Club León?
Club León was placed in Group D of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, where they were set to face Chelsea, Flamengo, and Esperance de Tunis. With León now out, a replacement team will join the group. However, it remains unclear which team teams could replace León at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
The leading candidate to replace them is Liga Deportiva Alajuelense from Costa Rica. This team was the first to report the connection between Club León and Club de Futbol Pachuca in 2024. At that time, Alajuelense was the highest-ranked team outside of Liga MX and MLS.
However, other teams in the running include Los Angeles FC, Costa Rica’s Club Sport Herediano, and Mexico’s América. As of now, there is no official word on the criteria FIFA will use to select the team that will replace Club León in Group D of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
