Inter Miami are qualified for the Club World Cup next June. Image: Inter Miami FC
(The Post News)- On Sunday, October 20, Messi scored a hat-trick and Luis Suarez a brace as Inter defeated the New England Revolution 6-2 to break the MLS regular season points record, the FIFA president appeared on the field at Inter’s Chase Stadium.
Miami will use the qualifying spot allotted to the host country. Miami won Major League Soccer’s Supporters’ Shield for the best regular season record this month.
“Inter Miami qualifies as the host country representative team on the basis of the club outstanding and consistent 34-match campaign that saw them secure the shield with two MLS matches to play,” according to a statement from FIFA.
The MLS Cup playoffs, which start next week and end with the final on December 7, will decide the official MLS champions. Although Miami is the clear favorite to win the playoffs, Lionel Messi, the Argentine superstar, will play since FIFA chose to choose the regular season winners.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi’s involvement is a much needed boost to the tournament’s profile, which FIFA hopes would pique the interest of American fans and television viewers worldwide in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup. Messi may face elite European club opponents in the competition for the first time since he moved to Miami from Paris Saint-Germain last year.
Teams who have won titles in each of FIFA’s continental confederations will compete in the 32-team competition. Twelve European teams including Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich have advanced to the tournament, while six South American teams including Argentina’s River Plate, Boca Juniors, and Brazil’s Flamengo have done the same.
There has been some criticism to the competition within the game, and FIFA has not yet announced any sponsorship or broadcast agreements for the tournament. The European Leagues body and players’ union FIFpro jointly complained to the European Commission about FIFA’s inclusion of the tournament in the schedule of international matches.
The new tournament’s detractors claim it raises players’ workloads and adds even more chaos to an already packed schedule. Manchester City defeated Brazil’s Fluminense in the final in Saudi Arabia to win the previous Club World Cup, which had seven teams in a knockout format. FIFA intends to stage the enlarged competition every four years, although no host has been selected as of yet.
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