Costa Rican club Alajuelense says FIFA broke its own rules about the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. The club thinks they should get a spot in the tournament because of a rule that says multiple clubs with the same owner can’t participate, which is supposed to keep things fair. This rule affects Mexican clubs Pachuca and León who are both owned by Grupo Pachuca which creates a problem FIFA needs to fix.
- FIFA’s rules only let one team with the same owner compete
- Grupo Pachuca has to pick either Pachuca or León for the tournament
- Alajuelense says they should get the empty spot
Alajuelense’s Claim for Inclusion
The Alajuelense situation shows the problems with multiple club ownership in football. FIFA made this rule to stop unfair advantages in big competitions like the Club World Cup. But like we can see with Alajuelense complaining about it enforcing these rules isn’t always simple.
Since Grupo Pachuca owns both Pachuca and León one of them can’t play which is why Alajuelense thinks they should get in instead. This whole thing shows how complicated modern football rules are and how hard it is for FIFA to keep everything fair.
Club World Cup: Costa Rican club accuse Fifa of breaking its own rules
Alajuelense say they should be part of 32-team tournament — and get a share of £500million prize fund — as two Mexican clubs are under same ownership
Story by @Lawton_Times⬇️
https://t.co/YGqb1KySXW
— Times Sport (@TimesSport)
November 19, 2024
Implications for Multi-Club Ownership
Alajuelense trying to get in shows they want to compete globally but also brings up questions about how fair and clear tournament picks are. With £500 million up for grabs getting into the tournament would help them make more money and get noticed internationally.
They got a good point since FIFA’s rule about multiple club ownership directly affects whether they can get in or not. Everyone in football is watching and how this gets sorted out might change how similar problems get handled later on maybe even changing how international club competitions work.
Future of International Club Competitions
The Alajuelense thing brings up bigger questions about multiple club ownership in football which makes money but causes lots of problems. FIFA made the rule to stop unfair advantages and keep things even in big competitions like the Club World Cup. But like we see with Alajuelense trying to get in following these rules can get really messy.
For more about international club competitions check out: