Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will compete at next year’s Club World Cup.
The expanded 32-team tournament is taking place in the United States in 2025 from 15 June to 3 July next year – and one of those spots has been given to a club from the host nation.
Messi and Inter Miami will compete at the Club World Cup next summerAFP
Inter Miami, who are co-owned by David Beckham, were awarded a place after winning the MLS Supporters’ Shield, given to the team in the MLS with the best regular season record.
Led by Messi, the club won 22 of their 34 games, drawing four and losing eight.
However, FIFA’s decision to award Miami a spot in the Club World Cup has drawn criticism.
The MLS playoffs have only just kicked-off with the wildcard round, and the winners of the MLS Cup will not be crowned until December.
While Inter Miami may go on to win the title, for now they are nothing more than the best team in the Eastern Conference, but have been awarded the only spot in the Club World Cup.
They will keep it, even if another team wins the MLS Cup.
“You have shown that in the United States, you are consistently the best club on the field of play,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said, awarding Inter Miami the Supporters’ Shield last weekend.
“Therefore, I am proud to announce that as one of the best clubs in the world, you are deserved participants in the new FIFA Club World Cup 2025.”
While MLS participation in the expanded tournament has to be seen as a good thing for the continued growth of the game in North America, USMNT legend Alexi Lalas has suggested Inter Miami’s qualification though the Supporters’ Shied is ‘disingenuous’.
“Anytime you see a headline saying Lionel Messi and Inter Miami qualified – they qualified in the mind of Gianni Infantino and FIFA,” Lalas said on his State of the Union podcast.
Infantino congratulated Messi and Inter Miami for their CWC qualificationGetty
“There was no qualifying process laid out ahead of time. When teams and players don’t know what they’re ultimately playing for, I think it’s disingenuous to say that you qualified for a tournament.
“I don’t think anybody is looking at Inter Miami representing MLS and the US in this tournament that’s coming next summer as a bad thing, but it never should have gotten to that, it should have been done ahead of time.
“Gianni Infantino even said they will be hosting the first game in Miami, so it’s all about Miami and Messi, using him as a promotional vehicle for this Club World Cup that needs promotion.”
Whether Lalas likes it or not, Inter Miami will be competing next summer.
That means their Barcelona stars of yesteryear, Messi, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez, could come up against the likes of Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City, who have already qualified for the tournament.
The Club World Cup will begin on Sunday, June 15, 2025 and conclude with the final on Sunday, July 13.
Man City are the current Club World Cup championsGetty
The tournament will be played across 12 stadiums in the USA, with the showpiece taking place at the MetLife Stadium in New York, New Jersey.
