Leon set for sale because of FIFA's ownership rules for the Club World Cup
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican club Leon is set to be put up for sale to comply with Club World Cup regulations that prohibit multi-club ownership, but it won’t happen in the short term.
The decision was announced Thursday by the owner of Grupo Pachuca, Jesús Martínez, who hopes that FIFA will take the pending sale into account and let both teams participate in the expanded Club World Cup next year in the United States.
Grupo Pachuca owns Leon and Pachuca, and both clubs qualified for the 32-team tournament.
Martínez said he's spoken to FIFA and plans to meet with the president of CONCACAF, Victor Montagliani, to explain how the two teams operate.
“They are listening. We have been transparent and we are optimistic that we can move forward with this situation,” Martínez said after the draw held on Thursday in Miami. “They told us that after the draw they will make a decision, in mid-December or early January”.
FIFA announced last month that it will not allow multiple teams belonging to the same owner to participate in the tournament.
Alajuelense of Costa Rica complained to soccer's governing body that two Mexican teams owned by Martínez qualified to participate, and requested it be included instead of one of them.
“We have in our favor that we did not have the regulation before, because it came out a month ago,” Martínez said. “That is being analyzed, but on their part I see a great openness, the most important thing is to respect what was won on the field.”
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