Chelsea will compete against one of the Los Angeles FC or Club America in the first edition of the Expanded Club World Cup this summer. The two Concacaf teams will meet later this month in a unique playoff.
The Club Leon had originally been pulled in Group D, including Chelsea next to Flamengo and it Tunis. However, the winners of the Concacaf Champions League 2023 2023 were downloaded from the tournament in March after FIFA found that Leon had violated the rules for the multiple clubs.
Leon is part of the Grupo Pachuca, which also counts Pachuca under his roof. As a winner of 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup, Pachuca qualified for the World Cup, which was a potential conflict of interest when both sides hit or influence the results of the other.
Pachuca quickly denied the decision and brought the matter to the Court of Sport (CAS) to make her appointment on May 6th.
Costa Rican Side Liga Deportiva Alajuelse (LDA) triggered the process, in which Leon was eliminated by the potential violation of the ownership regulations in February. After the FIFA had accepted that the two teams “did not meet the criteria in the regulations”, LDA presented its argument to fill this free place based on its continental rank.
CAS also rejected this month of making immediate justification, and instead insisted that FIFA “was responsible for the determination of the final qualified team for participation”.
The government of the World Football seems to have chosen Club America because they are the best rated team from the same federation as Leon, which is not yet in competition, while LAFC lost to the Mexican outfit in the final of the Concacaf Champions League 2023.
No date or location for the playoff between America and LAFC has been determined, although it The athlete have presented May 31 as a practical option.
Chelsea is expected to compete against the winner of this playoff on June 16 to start their group level before it is Tunis against the Brazilian team Flamengo and the ruling Moroccan champions.
Apart from the mysterious identity of her opening opponent, Enzo Maresca’s preparations for the competition could be complicated by the lack of her English international matches. Thomas Tuchel should not be ready to publish one of his three Lions team members in front of England in a friendly manner against Senegal on June 10 that Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill and Noni Madueke could miss.