Leon club disqualified from participating in the Club World Cup by FIFA, Tigres joins the competition

Due to violating the multi-team co-ownership rules, the Mexican powerhouse León was disqualified by FIFA from participating in the Club World Cup in June this year. This vacancy has caused many teams to be eager to try to "replace" in this world's top club competition. The latest to join the competition is the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League winner, Tigres.

Tigres believes that FIFA may consider looking back at the previous CONCACAF Champions League champions and using the 2020 champions as a replacement. Although this proposal has not yet been officially announced, the club's sports director Mauricio Culébro was cautious in an interview: "I understand FIFA's decision and León's situation. If it is our turn, we will deal with it in the best way possible."

He also said that Tigres is willing to take responsibility for participating in the Club World Cup: "Who doesn't want to participate in the Club World Cup? There is still history waiting for us to write in this event."

At present, in addition to Tigres, Club América of the United States and Alajuelense of Costa Rica are also vying for this place. Club América claims that they are currently ranked highest in CONCACAF points, while Alajuelense has submitted a complaint to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS), claiming that they are the most representative team in Central America.

Despite this, Tigres is looking forward to playing in the Club World Cup again. French striker Gignac said: "We have participated in the Club World Cup before and represented Mexico at a very high level. We will be very happy to participate in this new version of the tournament again."

Goalkeeper Najuel Guzman also expressed his support: "If every team wants to compete, then I will vote for the Tigers. But I also want to say that León qualified for the Club World Cup based on its strength, which deserves respect."

It is worth mentioning that Tigres is in good form and will face America in the 13th round of the 2025 Spring League. They are currently ranked third with 25 points. If they can beat America and cooperate with Leon's failure to beat Pumas, they are expected to top the standings.