LAFC and Club America vying for final Club World Cup spot as Fifa announce decisive play-off

Fifa will stage a one-time play-off between MLS side LAFC and Mexican outfit Club America to decide who takes the final spot in this summer’s Club World Cup.

The winner of the play-off will replace Club Leon in the competition, who were deemed ineligible to compete and axed after failing to comply with regulations regarding multi-club ownership.

The play-off will take place on May 31 at BMO Stadium, the home of LAFC.

LAFC were beaten by Leon in the 2023 Concacaf Champions League final, the tournament that decided the Liga MX side’s initial inclusion in the Club World Cup. As such, LAFC will feel they have a strong claim to compete in Leon’s place.

Meanwhile, Club America are the highest-ranked team behind Leon in the confederation ranking that did not qualify for the competition.

This play-off will be of great interest to Chelsea, who were due to play Leon in Group D before their exclusion from the competition.

The Blues were also drawn against Brazilian giants Flamengo and Tunisian outfit Esperance Sportive de Tunisie.

LAFC’s involvement in the play-off poses prospect of playing against a couple of familiar faces for Chelsea, with former Blues striker Olivier Giroud leading the line, while ex-Spurs skipper Hugo Lloris is their starting goalkeeper.

Leon were nevertheless aggrieved by the decision to oust them from this summer’s maiden Club World Cup in the United States, with club captain and former Real Madrid star James Rodriguez branding it as a “grave injustice”.

Grupo Pachuca, Leon’s owners who are also in control of fellow Club World Cup participants Pachuca, had an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected.

The 32-team competition kicks off on June 15 and runs until the final on July 13, with Manchester City the other English club to be vying for a new title this summer.