FIFA Club World Cup Playoff: LAFC vs Club América Date, Time & How to Watch

Liga MX’s Club América and Major League Soccer’s LAFC are competing for a FIFA Club World Cup spot this spring.

FIFA announced initial plans earlier this year, but this week the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed Mexico’s Club Leon’s disqualification, making the one-game playoff official.

According to insiders who spoke to Sports Illustrated, LAFC and Club América will play on May 31 at LAFC’s BMO Stadium. The winner will move into Club Leon’s Group D place and take the tournament’s final spot.

Grupo Pachuca owns Club Léon, the team where James Rodriguez, a former Real Madrid player, plays. Another team that has previously earned a spot in the Club World Cup is CF Pachuca, which is owned by the same company.

FIFA would not let both teams to participate in the event due to regulations on multi-club ownership. Before the court declared its decision to uphold FIFA’s initial punishment, the case in Lausanne, Switzerland, lasted more than five months.

FIFA selected Club America, the top seed in the four-year Concacaf Club Ranking, and LAFC, the 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup runner-up who lost to Leon in the final, as a substitute club for the expanded 32-team tournament.

In addition to the 2022 Concacaf Champions League champion Seattle Sounders FC and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami CF, LAFC would be the third Major League Soccer team to qualify for the event if they win.

The victor of the LAFC-América playoff would tour throughout the United States, playing against Flamengo of Brazil in Orlando, Chelsea in Atlanta, and Esperance of Tunisia in Nashville, while the other two American teams would play in their home cities.

If América wins they will play alongside CF Pachuca and CF Monterrey.

The first FIFA Club World Cup, which features 32 teams, takes place from June 14 to July 13. The final will be held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, which will also host the FIFA World Cup 2026 final.