The Mexican association must not compete in the United States – James Rodriguez also misses the tournament.
The eight-time Mexican football champion Club León was excluded from the club World Cup in the USA in summer.
This was decided by the Appeal Commission of the World Association FIFA on Friday. Accordingly, the club around the former Munich James Rodríguez did not meet “the criteria for possession of several football clubs” – the club in José de Jesús Martínez Patño has the same owner as CF Pachuca, which is also qualified for the tournament from June 14th to July 13th.
New opponent provided Chelsea
In November 2024, FIFA opened an investigation by an independent commission that gave the clubs representatives the opportunity to prove that they act as two independent clubs. FIFA now came to the conclusion that this is not the case. A replacement association will be announced at a later date.
Both clubs had qualified for the club World Cup by winning the Concacaf Champions Cup (2023 and 2024). The Colombian James only switched to the current second in the table of the Mexican league in January. Club León would have met Chelsea in Group D.
The club World Cup will be held for the first time as a four-week mega event. Europe provides the biggest contingent with twelve teams, from the Bundesliga Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.