LAFC to host América in Club World Cup qualifying playoff on May 31
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MIAMI — LAFC will host Mexico’s América on May 31 in a Club World Cup qualification playoff.
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 play-in game is needed to complete the 32-team lineup of the tournament that starts on June 14 because another Mexican club, León, was removed. León broke tournament integrity rules being in the same ownership group as another Club World Cup entry, Pachuca.
FIFA finalized the date and venue on Friday, 10 days after León’s appeal against expulsion was lost at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Mexican soccer club León has lost its appeal against FIFA and will not play in the Club World Cup next month in the United States.
LAFC’s 22,000-seat home BMO Stadium — next to the 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.
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 monthlong tournament. It is being played in 11 U.S. cities.
