image via @jamesdrodriguez/ X

Why Did FIFA Kick Out Club Leon From the Club World Cup?

image via @jamesdrodriguez/ X

Colombian star James Rodriguez will miss the Club World Cup after Club Leon was disqualified from the tournament. The Mexican club was removed due to non-compliance with FIFA’s regulations on multi-club ownership.

The world governing body stated that Grupo Pachuca owned both Club Leon and CF Pachuca. After failing to find a replacement even after a statement, FIFA ruled in their favour.

In Group D, Chelsea was scheduled to play Leon in Atlanta on June 16 along with Flamengo of Brazil and Esperance of Tunisia. Rodriguez, who joined Leon in January, will miss an opportunity to make a return to England.

⛔️🇲🇽 OFFICIAL: Club León from Mexico have been kicked out of the Club World Cup.

Decision made by FIFA due to multi-club ownership rules with replacement to be announced soon.

It also means James Rodriguez won’t be part of the competitions. pic.twitter.com/CZkiAS8u02
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 21, 2025

What Are FIFA’s Regulations on Multi-Club Ownership?

According to Article 10 in the regulations of the Club World Cup, “No club participating in the Competition may, either directly or indirectly be a member of any other club participating in the Competition”. They are also are not allowed to hold or deal in the securities or shares of any other club participating in the Competition.

Following the conclusion, a FIFA official called the process of ruling out independent. Talking about the integrity the spokesperson said:

“FIFA takes note of the decision by the Fifa Appeal Committee which followed an independent process.”

“The integrity of all competitions is paramount, and further details will be provided in due course in line with article 10.4 of the FIFA Club World Cup Regulations 2025.”

Club León, on the contrary, appealed the decision, calling the measure “cruel and unfair.” They insisted that they had cooperated at all times, stating:

“FIFA has notified Club Leon that we will not participate in the next Club World Cup 2025.”

“The Secretary General of the organization decided that our team must leave its place in the competition despite having won with justice and professionalism on the court obtaining the title of the CONCACAF Champions League 2023; a measure that is cruel, unfair, which we do not share and we do not know who benefits, but who it does harms: our fans.”

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With the details yet to be announced and the club’s heavy appeal, it remains unclear which CONCACAF club will replace Club Leon.

Club Leon

Club World Cup

James Rodriguez

Mayur Dedwal

soccer

I’m a Sports Content Writer with expertise in football. Being a decade old football enthusiast and part-time coach, I try to bring to life to the articles in a statistical manner. Being around all kinds of sports updates and able to put in my perspective’s to the happenings in the world of football are few of the many things i like in doing what i do. You can find me playing Sunday leagues or Xbox on weekends!