How Much Will LAFC or Club América Get From Qualifying for FIFA Club World Cup?

SI Soccer

·10 May 2025

How Much Will LAFC or Club América Get From Qualifying for FIFA Club World Cup?

A lot of money will be up for grabs when MLS side LAFC and Mexico’s Club América battle for the final spot in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

After FIFA disqualified Liga MX side Club Léon from the tournament, it set up a one-match playoff to be hosted in May at LAFC’s BMO Stadium. The winner will claim the vacant berth in the 32-team summer tournament.

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Club Léon’s hopes of remaining in the Club World Cup were dashed when the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected their appeal and turned aside Costa Rica’s LD Alajuelense, upholding FIFA’s previous decision.

The LAFC vs. Club América match is effectively a $10 million match. The winning club will be awarded an entry fee of $9.55 million and will have the opportunity to claim more in the tournament. Each group stage win is worth an additional $2 million in prize money.

A club can also claim more if they advance several rounds in the tournament. The playoff winner will slot into Group D, where Léon was initially drawn, and take on England’s Chelsea, Brazil’s Flamengo and Tunisia’s ES Tunis.

Club Léon’s disqualification resulted due to its ownership by Grupo Pachuca, the same ownership group that owns and operates CF Pachuca, another Liga MX team that has qualified for the tournament.

To fill the empty slot, FIFA chose LAFC, the club that fell to Léon in the 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup Final, and Club América, the highest-ranking side in the Concacaf Club Rankings through the four-year qualification period.

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, the first to include 32 teams, will kick off in Miami at Hard Rock Stadium on June 14, before finishing with a final at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on July 13.