LAFC to host América May 31 in playoff for Club World Cup spot

LAFC and Club América will play their Club World Cup qualifying playoff match on May 31 at BMO Stadium, home of LAFC, for a place in the group stage of the 32-team tournament, FIFA confirmed on Friday.

The winner will get group-stage games against Chelsea in Atlanta on June 16, then Esperance from Tunisia in Nashville, and Flamengo of Brazil in Orlando.

The playoff is being held to decide the 32nd team after Club León were kicked out of the tournament due to a multi-club ownership rule breach. The Liga MX club also had their appeal rejected at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

LAFC’s 22,000-seat home BMO Stadium — next to the LA Memorial Coliseum and shared with Angel City — will stage the game at 7:30 p.m. local time.

That is several hours after the Champions League final in Munich between Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain. Both have qualified for the Club World Cup.

FIFA said in March that Club León and Pachuca did not meet regulations on multi-club ownership. However, Pachuca’s spot in the June 14-July 13 tournament was unaffected.

LAFC were runners-up to Club León in the 2023 Concacaf Champions League while Club América were the top-ranked team in the Club World Cup confederation ranking at the end of the Champions Cup staged in 2024.

LAFC (6-4-3) is currently riding an unbeaten streak of six games. Its last loss was a little more than a month ago (April 9) in the Concacaf Champions Cup when Inter Miami beat LAFC, 3-1.

The Club World Cup entry for LAFC or América is worth an initial $9.55 million payment from FIFA for a Concacaf region team, plus a share of the $1 billion in total prize money based on results at the month-long tournament. It is being played in 11 U.S. cities.

Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this report.