Chelsea learn new Club World Cup opponent after team banned from competition
Chelsea and Manchester City will be among the 32 teams who will participate in the FIFA Club World Cup later this month and their first opponents have now been confirmed
Chelsea will start their FIFA Club World Cup campaign against Los Angeles FC after the MLS outfit won a play-off game to take the place of the banned Club Leon.
It emerged last month that Leon, the Blues' first opponents, would no longer be participating in the tournament due to the fact that their owners are also in charge of Pachuca, another of the team's featuring in the competition.
With the Court of Arbitration for Sport then dismissing an appeal from Club Leon, it was confirmed that LAFC would face Club America in a one-off game to decide who would be given a golden ticket to the tournament, which officially gets underway on June 14.
And after beating Club America 2-1 following extra-time, LAFC will now join Chelsea, Flamengo and Es Tunis in Group D.
The MLS outfit will automatically bank $9.55 million for qualifying but could go on to rake in more from the total $1bn prize pot which is on offer between all 32 competing teams.
For LAFC, their golden ticket to the United States was made only possible after the CAS upheld Fifa's original decision to exclude them earlier this month.
The CAS confirmed the ruling in a statement, which read: 'As a result of the CAS ruling, FIFA is responsible for designating the final qualified team to participate in the Club World Cup 2025. The CAS Panel has issued an Operative Decision dismissing the three appeals and ruled that Pachuca and Club Leon failed to meet the criteria in the Regulations for the Fifa World Cup Club 2025 concerning multiple club ownership.
'The Panel examined the evidence, including the Club Leon trust set up by the owners of the club, and concluded that this trust was insufficient to comply with the Regulations. Consequently, Club Leon remains excluded from the competition and Pachuca remains qualified.
'A separate appeal by [Alajuelense] against Club Leon, Pachuca and Fifa, filed on 3 February 2025, requested that Club Leon and Pachuca's participation in the Club World Cup was contrary to Fifa regulations and that one of the clubs, or both, should be removed.
'The appeal also requested that [Alajuelense] should be admitted to the competition in place of a removed team. This case was heard by CAS in person in Madrid on 23 April 2025 and was also rejected today.'
Enzo Maresca and Chelsea will head to the United States in buoyant mood after securing their spot in next season's Champions League and winning the Europa Conference League final.
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