Miami owner denies 'controversy' over CWC place
Inter Miami CF co-owner Jorge Mas said there is “no controversy” surrounding the team’s qualification to the 2025 Club World Cup after winning the 2023 Leagues Cup, 2024 Supporters’ Shield and setting the MLS record for most points recorded in a single season.
“There’s no controversy. One of our goals for 2024 was to qualify for the Club World Cup,” said Mas while attending the draw in Miami. “Especially on the heels of winning the 2023 Leagues Cup and then the Supporters’ Shield and setting the league record for most points.
“We fell short in playing for a championship, but we very much look forward to the Club World Cup, the Leagues Cup and Concacaf Champions League and regular season.”
FIFA awarded Inter Miami the final Concacaf spot to the Club World Cup on Oct. 18, when president Gianni Infantino made the announcement at Chase Stadium. The Herons joined Seattle Sounders FC, CF Monterrey, Club Leon and CF Pachuca as the North American competitors in the 32-team tournament.
Inter Miami and Lionel Messi will now face Brazil‘s Palmeiras, Portugal‘s FC Porto and Egypt‘s Al Ahly SC in Group A. The Herons will play the first match of the tournament on June 15, hosting Al Ahly at Hard Rock Stadium.
“It’s a difficult group that presents challenges but I am very hopeful to compete,” said Mas. “A good tournament for the team would be to make it out of the group stage and compete. Our first objective is to make it out of the group stage and then compete with those who qualify to the next round.”
Mas promised the team will be preparing for the tournament by building the strongest roster possible and limiting the 2025 preseason to ensure all players kickoff the campaign in a healthy manner.
“We will start early this year because I think we have Concacaf Champions Cup games early in February, so we will start our pre-season in the first week of January,” Mas said. “This team will go on tour. It will be a well organized tour that considers the necessities of our players and head coach Javier Mascherano.
“We learned from last year, and the most important thing for us is the health of our players. And it is just a preseason. But we will go on tour because it is important to have competition for our players. We are also a global team, around the world people want to see the pink of inter Miami.”
Mas went on to confirm it would be a short tour, and against “important” rivals, after criticism — including from Messi — that the 2024 preseason global tour was too much of a drain on the players.
Inter Miami will participate in multiple competitions in 2025, including Leagues Cup, the Concacaf Champions Cup, the Club World Cup and the MLS regular season.
