The Club World Cup, which is being held for the first time with 32 teams, will finally take place without Club Leon. On Tuesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected the club’s appeal.
According to CAS, the decision was made after all documents submitted had been reviewed. The panel concluded that FIFA’s decision was lawful.
The ruling was “very harsh,” Club Leon wrote in an initial statement on platform X. The Mexican club believes that there was “no sporting principle” in the case “from the outset.”
Club Leon had qualified for the Club World Cup from June 14 to July 13 in the US and had already been drawn into Group D with Chelsea FC, Flamengo Rio de Janeiro, and ES Tunis. However, at the end of March, FIFA excluded Leon from participating. The world governing body stated that the Mexican club did not meet “criteria for owning multiple soccer clubs.” José de Jesus Martinez Patino, owner of Club Leon, also owns Mexican club CF Pachuca, which has also qualified for the competition.
Leon finally lodged an appeal against this ruling at the beginning of April. In its appeal, Leon emphasized that it was an “independent, autonomous, and sovereign team” and complained that the exclusion violated “the spirit of fair competition.” However, the CAS did not share this view, and just one day after the proceedings were opened, the ruling was handed down, marking the end of the road for Club Leon.
The question of who will replace them has already been settled. Los Angeles FC and Mexican club Team America will now battle it out in a play-off for the last remaining place.
Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will represent the Bundesliga in the Club World Cup. Bayern will play their opening match in Group C on June 15 (6 p.m. CEST) against Auckland City, with further opponents including Boca Juniors from Buenos Aires (June 21, 3 a.m. CEST) and Benfica Lisbon (June 24, 9 p.m. CEST). Dortmund will face Fluminense (June 17, 6 p.m. CEST), Mamelodi Sundowns from South Africa (June 21, 6 p.m. CEST) and FC Ulsan HD from South Korea (June 25, 9 p.m. CEST) in Group F.
