FIFA gives Lionel Messi, Inter Miami a spot in 2025 Club World Cup

FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced Saturday that Inter Miami will receive a spot in the 2025 Club World Cup, a 32-team, first-of-its-kind tournament set to take place in the United States 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 Miami win and a Lionel Messi hat trick — to make the announcement.

He also said that Miami would host the opening game of the tournament at Hard Rock Stadium, even though Inter had not qualified via any previously announced criteria.

The other 31 teams — Manchester City and Real Madrid, Monterrey and Pachuca, Al Hilal and others — qualified or will qualify on clearly defined sporting merit, mostly by winning their continental championships between 2021 and 2024.

When FIFA finalized the criteria and format last year, though, it left one spot open to a team from the host country, the U.S. It never said how that spot would be allocated.

When asked by Yahoo Sports and others recently when that decision would be made, FIFA spokesmen did not say. People with second-hand knowledge of discussions, however, privately speculated all along that FIFA was searching for a way to get Messi and Miami into the tournament — which has struggled to attract sponsors and broadcasters amid resistance from the European soccer establishment.

When he grabbed a microphone at Chase Stadium to make the announcement, Infantino said that Miami earned the berth by winning the Supporters’ Shield, the MLS regular-season title, with a record tally of 74 points. “Based on this outstanding performance of this year, you deserve to be, and you will be, qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025,” Infantino said.

MLS, however, crowns its champion via playoffs, which begin next week. Miami is the top seed, but the Columbus Crew are the defending champions. None of the league’s 29 clubs entered the 2024 season knowing that the most points throughout the regular season would earn them a spot in the Club World Cup.

Messi’s presence will surely boost the tournament’s attractiveness, but will rankle many who believe the final spot should have been awarded based on criteria announced prior to the season — or to the MLS champion.

Inter Miami missed out on its one other chance to qualify when it lost to Monterrey in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals.

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 games at Lumen Field in Seattle.

Full Club World Cup field

The one Club World Cup spot that remains up for grabs will be awarded to the winner of the 2024 Copa Libertadores, the South American championship. The other 31 of 32 are now set:

North and Central America: Monterrey, León, Pachuca (all Mexico), Seattle Sounders and Inter Miami (both United States)

South America: Palmeiras, Flamengo, Fluminense (all Brazil), Boca Juniors, River Plate (both Argentina), winner of 2024 Copa Libertadores

Europe: Chelsea, Manchester City (both England), Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid (both Spain), Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund (both Germany), PSG (France), Inter Milan, Juventus (both Italy), Porto, Benfica (both Portugal) and Red Bull Salzburg (Austria)

Asia: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan), Ulsan (South Korea) and Al Ain (UAE)

Africa: Al-Ahly (Egypt), Wydad Casablanca (Morocco), Esperance (Tunisia) and Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)

Oceania: Auckland City (New Zealand)