Chelsea set to learn Club World Cup opponents with emergency playoff after Fifa break their own rule
CHELSEA’S opening Club World Cup replacement opponents are set to be decided by an emergency playoff – as Fifa break their own rules.
And they could be handed a reunion with former Blues striker Olivier Giroud – and ex-Spurs skipper Hugo Lloris.
Fifa have confirmed it is now “considering” a one-off tie involving Mexico’s Club America and Los Angeles FC of the USA to fill the void after Leon were booted out of the tournament.
Chelsea were due to play the Mexican side in their opening game in Atlanta on June 16.
But Leon fell foul of Fifa’s multi-club ownership regulations as they are part of the group that also owns fellow Mexicans Pachuca, who also qualified as Concacaf Champions Cup winners.
In a statement, a Zurich spokesperson said: “Fifa can confirm that it is considering a playoff match between LAFC and Club América for the right to participate in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, replacing Club León.
“LAFC would participate in the match because they were the runners-up in the 2023 Concacaf Champions’ Cup, which León won.
“America would participate because they are the highest-ranked team in Concacaf in the Fifa Club World Cup rankings. Further details will be provided in due course.”
Suggestions that Fifa would open the door for Club America, the most widely supported club in Mexico, have grown in recent weeks.
Mexican fans ensured sell-outs for the Concacaf Nations Cup finals in Los Angeles last week, even though Mauricio Pochettino’s USA side played the afternoon games in half-empty stadiums before the supporters arrived en masse.
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But under the regulations Fifa announced when they confirmed the tournament, NEITHER side should be considered.
Fifa rules state that no country is allowed more than two representatives UNLESS those clubs were all winners of their confederation’s major club prize in the four-year qualification period.
Those regulations meant Liverpool, who would have qualified through Uefa’s coefficient system, were among the major European sides to miss out at the expense of Austrians Salzburg.
But Fifa then designated Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami as a “host” team representing Concacaf rather than the USA, whose only official club involved is Seattle Sounders.
Mexico already have Monterrey as well as Pachuca, filling their quota, with the measures against Leon instigated by a complaint from Costa Rica’s Liga Deportiva Alajuelense, who argued they should be handed their place as the next eligible side in the coefficient standings.
Lloris joined LAFC, part-owned by US actor and comedian Will Ferrell, in December 2023 after more than 11 seasons at Spurs while Giroud, also 38, went to the MLS when he left AC Milan last summer.
Leon have already appealed Fifa’s ban decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and any playoff cannot be scheduled until after the result of the legal proceedings are known.
Chelsea’s other two opponents in Group D are Brazilians Flamengo, who they meet in Philadelphia on June 20 and Tunisian outfit Esperance, with the final group game in the same venue four days later.
The Blues have already been assured of around £30m in appearance money for the inaugural version of the expanded 32-team competition, with a further £67m up for grabs in potential prize money.
England’s other representatives, Manchester City, start against Morocco’s Wydad in Philadelphia on June 18.
They then meet Abu Dhabi outfit Al Ain in Atlanta before finishing against Juventus in Orlando on June 26.
If they win their respective groups, the two Prem sides cannot meet until the final in New York on July 13.