When is the FIFA Club World Cup playoff between LAFC and Club América? | OneFootball

A FIFA Club World Cup spot is on the line for MLS side LAFC and Liga MX’s Club América this spring.

FIFA shared initial plans earlier in the year, but the one-game playoff became official this week after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld Mexico’s Club Léon's disqualification.

LAFC and Club América will clash on May 31 at LAFC’s BMO Stadium, sources confirmed to Sports Illustrated. The winner will take the final spot in the tournament and slide into Club Léon’s spot in Group D.

Club Léon, where former Real Madrid star James Rodriguez plays, is owned by Grupo Pachuca. The same ownership group oversees CF Pachuca, another club that has already qualified for the Club World Cup.

Due to multi-club ownership rules, FIFA would not allow both teams in the tournament. The court case lasted over five months in Lausanne, Switzerland, before the court announced its decision to uphold FIFA’s initial punishment.

To find a replacement team for the expanded 32-team tournament, FIFA chose the 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup runner-up, LAFC, who lost to Léon in the final, and the top seed in the four-year Concacaf Club Ranking, Club America.

Should LAFC win, they would become the third MLS club in the tournament, alongside the 2022 Concacaf Champions League winner Seattle Sounders FC, and the host berth awarded to Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami CF.

While the two other American teams would play in their home markets, the winner of the LAFC-América playoff would travel around the United States, taking on Chelsea in Atlanta, Esperance of Tunisia in Nashville and Flamengo of Brazil in Orlando.

Should América win, they would join CF Pachuca and CF Monterrey in the competition.

The first FIFA Club World Cup with 32 teams runs from June 14 to July 13, with the final hosted at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, the same venue for the FIFA World Cup 2026 final.