The Arbitral Sports Court (TAS) announced on Tuesday its final and final decision regarding the resources presented by the León Club, the Pachuca football Club and the Alajuelense Sports League Association (LDA), all related to the regulation of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. The ruling, issued after an audience held on May 5 in Lausan He rejected the three appeals presented and ratified the exclusion of the León Club from the competition.
The central axis of the dispute revolved around article 10.1 of the tournament regulations, which establishes explicit restrictions on multiple clubs. FIFA had previously determined that León and Pachuca, both belonging to the Pachuca group, violated these regulations. Although the Leon Club tried to justify its independence through the creation of a trust, the TAS concluded that said mechanism was not enough to guarantee the structural and management autonomy required by the regulation.
“The panel examined the tests, including the trustee of the León Club created by the club’s owners, and concluded that this trust was insufficient to comply with the regulation,” the TAS explained in an official statement. Consequently, the decision of the FIFA that excluded León and maintained the classification of Pachuca was confirmed.
In addition to the resources presented by Mexican clubs, the TAS also resolved an appeal filed by the Alajuelense Sports League of Costa Rica. The Central American Club requested that both Pachuca and León be disqualified for violating the regulation, and asked to occupy the vacancy in the tournament. This audience took place in Madrid on April 23. However, the court also dismissed this appeal, and confirmed that none of the arguments of the LDA was sufficient to alter the original ruling or to justify its inclusion in the contest.
In both processes, the TAS panel was chaired by Paraguayan professor Roberto Moreno. In the case of Mexican clubs, the Italian professor Massimo Coccia and the Brazilian Daniel Cravo Souza accompanied him as co-Árbitros. In the resource of the LDA, David Arias (Spain) and Juan Pablo Arriagada (Chile) participated.
FIFA had issued its decision on March 21, 2025, after an investigation that concluded that León and Pachuca breached the eligibility requirements established in article 10 of the competition. This regulation seeks to prevent the same business group from controlling more than one classified club to the tournament. Despite the appeals, FIFA held its position throughout the process.
With the rejection of all resources by the TAS, Everything indicates that to elucidate that vacancy in the tournament A final will be played Between America of Mexico (better classified in the Concacaf ranking) and Los Angeles FC (runner -up of the Concachampions 2023, an edition that León won).
Minutes after knowing the fault of the TAS, the Leon Club published a statement in which he expressed his discontent and pointed directly against FIFA for the management of the case. “The sentence was very hard, the very influential rivals, the very intense pressure and the very high interests,” begins the letter released by the institution.
The text denounces an alleged lack of impartiality and accuses the governing body of world football of having stigmatized and s defamated to the club during the process: “From the beginning, no sporting principle existed in this case. […] During the last weeks they have pointed out, stigmatized and defamed; This is the greatest damage caused to a team that has always competed with humility and honesty. ”
“For the León Club to attend the Club World Cup, it was never a matter of power or money, we fight until the end for being there because as a sports organization we seek the glory that can only be won, defend itself and deserve on a court,” the institution said.
The message also included a reference to the emotional damage that, according to the club, has suffered its hobby and its players, and closed with a declaration of principles: “We know that a team must replace us in the Club World Cup, we want the sports values that in this case were not carried in this case, they will be honest and respected, they cannot be sold by someone, nor bought by anyone.”
It is worth remembering that the Leon Club had achieved its classification to the Club World Cup after winning the Concacaf 2023 Champions League, while Pachuca assured his place as champion of the 2022 edition. The impossibility of both clubs coexisting in the contest forced FIFA to make a decision between one and the other, which resulted in a legal battle that lasted for months.
