David Beckham speaks following a game between the Inter Miami and the New England Revolution (Image: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
FIFA has caused an uproar within Major League Soccer by awarding Inter Miami a coveted spot in the Club World Cup.
Gianni Infantino, FIFA’s president, made the announcement on Sunday that David Beckham’s franchise would be one of the 32 teams competing in the expanded tournament, set to take place across the United States from June 15 to July 13. Despite previous ambiguity over how the host nation slot would be allocated, Inter Miami has been granted this position.
The decision to include Miami in the tournament comes after their triumph in securing the Supporters’ Shield, which is given to the MLS team with the best regular-season performance. Boasting former Barcelona greats such as Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets, the team amassed a record-breaking 74 points during the regular season.
With their entry into the MLS play-offs still pending the competition that actually determines the league champions Inter Miami has already secured a high-profile role for the following summer. Not only will they participate in the Club World Cup, but they will also have the honour of hosting the opening game.
Infantino expressed his enthusiasm for the event at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, where he witnessed Inter Miami’s dominant victory over New England Revolution: “Miami loves football, the world loves football and the world loves Miami. So I have three things to tell you,” he declared on the pitch post-match, reports the Mirror.
Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami shakes the hand of FIFA President Gianni Infantino (Image: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
“The first: many congratulations for winning the Supporters’ Shield. And on top, with the record of points in Major League Soccer. Congratulations, you are the best team of the season in America. Second, based on this outstanding performance of this year you deserve to be, and you will be, for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.”
“And third, as the host team of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, you will have the honour of opening the tournament by hosting the opening game here in Miami at the Hard Rock Stadium in front of 65,000 people and tens of millions at home.”
Infantino was thrilled to break the news to Inter Miami supporters following their triumph as MLS Eastern Conference champions. However, the decision has sparked controversy among other MLS teams, who have levelled accusations of favouritism against FIFA.
The Club World Cup has struggled to attract broadcaster interest, with companies shying away from bidding for the rights, and the inclusion of Messi is certainly a draw in that regard. Fans from rival clubs have expressed their frustration over what they perceive as preferential treatment towards Beckham’s high-profile franchise compared to other teams.
One disgruntled fan took to Twitter, lamenting: “They just need Messi in the tournament. Can’t fault them for wanting that but the lack of process for this was pretty ridiculous”. Another chimed in with cynicism: “The criteria was always the same. Whichever team had Lionel Messi was gonna qualify”.
A third chimed in: “Even if Miami had the worst season of their history, they would have still gotten the spot. The fact that there was no criteria to get the spot means that FIFA and the MLS intended to ask Miami to fill in the final spot, they just needed a good excuse.”
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1965354/MLS-Lionel-Messi-David-Beckham