Sport
Barcelona Denied Club World Cup Place Despite Winning La Liga and Trophies
Barcelona reportedly made a last-minute attempt to join the 2025 Club World Cup but were turned down by FIFA, despite a successful domestic season. The Spanish giants reached out to world football’s governing body hoping to take advantage of an unexpected opening at the tournament. The vacancy came after Mexican side Club León was disqualified for breaching FIFA’s multi-club ownership rules, since they share ownership with local rivals Pachuca.
Although Barca had a strong case—having won La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup in the 2024–25 season—the spot didn’t go to them. Instead, FIFA kept things within the CONCACAF region, awarding the place to MLS side LAFC. LAFC secured their participation by defeating Club América in a play-in match organized to fill León’s place.
Barcelona had failed to qualify automatically through the standard ranking system and hoped their recent silverware would be enough to earn them a place. However, FIFA stood by its regional representation structure and passed on the Catalan club’s late push for inclusion.
Ghanaian Referee, Daniel Laryea, who officiated the Nigeria vs Morocco game in AFCON gets interviews and shared his experience.
The referee reveals how it was his first time in a semi final and was kind of nervous. “I’ve been to three AFCON tournaments, but this is the first time I’ve been in a semi-final.”
“So when coaches choose you for that game, they know your skills and what you can do. But of course, you feel a little nervous because of the level of the match.”
Nigerian Footballer, Bright Osayi-Samuel , react to match as Super Eagles lose to Morocco.
The player calls out CAF for their referee appointment. He shares how the Ghanaian Referee was tough on the field and made bad choices.
“One thing I would say is that the referee was really bad. I’m not saying that was the reason we lost. He is making really bad choices and it’s really tough to watch because we have referees like this in big games like today.
He then praises Morocco for a good game “But Morocco did really well.”
Super Eagles Coach, Eric Chelle speaks and shared why Nigeria lost the AFCON match to Morocco.
It can be noted that the match was held on the 14th of January, 2026. Nigeria lost the match with a draft in the penalties, 4-2.
During a recent interview, Chelle shared his observations about the match and shared why they lost.
“From a technical point of view, the Super Eagles weren’t at the same level as we displayed in our other matches.”
“I don’t want to say the reason was fatigue, but the truth is that we lacked movement and power.”
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