FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced Saturday that Inter Miami will receive the final spot for the 2025 Club World Cup, a 32-team tournament, the first of its kind, to be held in the United States on next summer.
Infantino appeared out of nowhere at Inter Miami’s victory ceremony on the final day of the MLS regular season, after a 6-2 win in Miami and a Lionel Messi hat trick, to make the announcement.
He also said that Miami would host the tournament’s opening match at Hard Rock Stadium, although Inter had not qualified based on any previously announced criteria.
The other 31 teams (Manchester City and Real Madrid, Monterrey and Pachuca, Al Hilal and others) qualified on clearly defined sporting meritmainly by winning their continental championships between 2021 and 2024.
However, when FIFA finalized the criteria and format last year, it left a spot open for a team from the host country, the United States. He never said how that spot would be assigned.
When Yahoo Sports and others recently asked when that decision would be made, FIFA spokespeople did not say. However, people with second-hand knowledge of the discussions privately speculated that FIFA was looking for a way to include Messi and Miami in the tournament, which has struggled to attract sponsors and broadcasters amid resistance from the soccer establishment. European.
As he took a microphone at Chase Stadium to make the announcement, Infantino said Miami earned the spot by winning the Supporters’ Shield, the MLS regular-season title, with a record 74 points.
MLS, however, crowns its champion via playoffs, which begin next week. Miami is the frontrunner, but the Columbus Crew are the defending champions. None of the league’s 29 clubs entered the 2024 season knowing that the most points during the regular season would earn them a spot in the Club World Cup.
Messi’s presence will surely increase the tournament’s appeal, but will irritate many who believe the final spot should have been awarded based on criteria announced before the season.
Inter Miami missed its other chance to qualify when it lost to Monterrey in the quarterfinals of the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup.
The only other MLS team qualified is the Seattle Sounders. They secured their spot by winning the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League and will host all three of their group matches at Lumen Field in Seattle.
Full field for the Club World Cup
NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA: Monterrey, León, Pachuca (all of Mexico), Seattle Sounders and Inter Miami (both United States)
SOUTH AMERICA: Palmeiras, Flamengo and Fluminense (all Brazil), Boca Juniors, River Plate (both Argentina)
EUROPE: Chelsea, Manchester City (both from England), Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid (both from Spain), Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund (both from Germany), PSG (France), Inter Milan, Juventus (both from Italy), Porto , Benfica (both from Portugal), Red Bull Salzburg (Austria)
ASIA: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan), Ulsan (South Korea), Al Ain (UAE)
AFRICA: Al-Ahly (Egypt), Wydad Casablanca (Morocco), Esperance (Tunisia), Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
OCEANIA: Auckland City (New Zealand)