Club Leon will be removed from the Club World Cup in the United States later this year as it and another Mexican club in the tournament, CF Pachuca, failed to meet criteria on multi-club ownership, world soccer’s governing body said on Friday.
Both Leon and Pachuca are owned by Grupo Pachuca. Leon had qualified after winning the Concacaf Champions Cup in 2023 while Pachuca won the competition last year.
However, Costa Rican side Liga Deportiva Alajuelense filed a complaint with FIFA in November based on the “eligibility principles” of the competition, requesting the right to participate in the Club World Cup.
Disciplinary proceedings were opened by FIFA against both Mexican clubs and the chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee referred the case to the FIFA Appeal Committee.
“After having evaluated all evidence on file, the chairman of the FIFA Appeal Committee has decided that CF Pachuca and Club Leon failed to meet the criteria on multi-club ownership,” FIFA said in a statement.
“…FIFA has determined that Club Leon will be removed from the competition, with the club to be admitted as a replacement to be announced in due course.”
FIFA did not state the exact multi-club ownership criteria the Mexican clubs had failed to meet.
The competition’s regulations include many stipulations regarding ownership such as that no club in the competition can be involved in any capacity in the management, administration or sporting performance of any other club or hold shares or securities in any other club.
Alajuelense, who are 30-times champions of the Costa Rican top flight and won the Central American Cup in 2023, felt they should be allowed to take part instead.
The Costa Rican club said last month that they had gone to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after FIFA failed to act on their complaint, requesting a ruling no later than a month before the start of the tournament.
A lot is at stake in the inaugural edition of the expanded 32-team competition, with FIFA saying the prize money on offer will be $1 billion.
Pachuca’s spot at the June 14-July 13 competition was unaffected and the club said they had not been informed of the reasons for the decision.
Leon said they disagreed with FIFA’s decision and would appeal in the sport’s highest courts if they were denied a place at the Club World Cup.
“In the last few months we have presented all the evidence and documents confirming that Club Leon manages itself in an autonomous manner in all economic, administrative and sporting aspects,” it said.
Leon were drawn in Group D alongside Premier League side Chelsea, Brazil’s Flamengo and Tunisian side Esperance. They were due to play their first match against Chelsea on June 16 in Atlanta.
