When FIFA finalized its upcoming Club World Cup and announced it would leave a spot open for the United States as host, it never said how the spot would be awarded.
This weekend, it showed just how.
Inter Miami and its star player Lionel Messi will be part of the Club World Cup and host the opening game after FIFA president Gianni Infantino surprised everyone at the team’s game Saturday and revealed just that.
In a speech in Miami, Infantino cited the club winning the MLS Supporters’ Shield —awarded to the team with the most points in the regular season—as the reason for their inclusion. MLS decides its champion through a playoff with the winner hoisting the MLS Cup.
Inter Miami set an MLS record this season by notching 74 points during the league’s regular season, which takes place from late February through mid-October. The Columbus Crew are the defending MLS Cup champions and came in second with 66 points. The MLS playoffs are set to start Tuesday.
“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.
The Club World Cup will start in June 2025 and be hosted in stadiums around the United States including Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C.
None of the league’s 30 teams went into the season knowing the winner of the Supporters’ Shield, which Inter Miami clinched in early October, would secure a berth in the Club World Cup. A spokesperson for FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on when it was determined the Supporters’ Shield winner would be awarded the bid.
An MLS spokesperson said FIFA managed the qualification process and deferred comment to them on when teams were notified of the Supporters’ Shield stakes.
The Seattle Sounders are the only other MLS team in the 32-team field. They qualified by winning the Concacaf Champions League in May 2022. Inter Miami got knocked out in the quarterfinals of the same tournament. The other 30 Club World Cup participants, which include Manchester City and Real Madrid, qualified similarly, mostly by winning their continental championships between 2021 and 2024. FIFA also released a list of qualifications for clubs to get in on merit.
FIFA’s struggles with promoting the Club World Cup have been well documented as soccer’s governing body has delayed the tournament for years, partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In April, Apple was reportedly close to landing the streaming deal for the tournament at a price that was well below what was originally touted. Finding a way to include Messi in the tournament helps combat the resistance FIFA has received from European clubs in addition to its broadcasting and sponsorship struggles.
“I think we are worried that that people make decisions in isolation and without seeing the big picture,” the head of the Professional Footballers’ Association, Maheta Molango, said in June. “Everyone says to you, ‘My calendar works.’ Yeah, of course it does. But then when you look at this in conjunction then it doesn’t.”
