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Paul, Weiss assisted FIFA’s inhouse team and Swiss counsel Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler in a significant victory for Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). CAS rejected appeals by Club León and Club de Fútbol Pachuca (CF Pachuca) in relation to the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.

In March 2025, the FIFA Appeal Committee decided that Club León and CF Pachuca had violated the competition’s regulations prohibiting multi-club ownership, as both clubs are part of Grupo Pachuca. FIFA removed Club León from the competition, and the clubs filed appeals. As described in the FIFA Appeal Committee decision, the clubs relied in part on claims that they were no longer in violation of FIFA’s rules because the owners of Club León had set up a trust for the duration of the competition. FIFA argued that the trust agreement preserved the owners’ control and influence and therefore did not remedy the breach of the multi-club ownership rule.

A day after the appeal hearing in Lausanne, Switzerland, the court ruled that the panel “examined the evidence, including the Club León trust set up by the owners of the club, and concluded that this trust was insufficient to comply with the Regulations.” As a result of the CAS ruling, FIFA will organize a playoff game to determine which team will replace Club León before the tournament starts on June 14.

The Paul, Weiss team was led by litigation partner Christopher Boehning and included partner Daniel Reich and counsel Daniel Crane; and personal representation partner Renee Stern-Kaplan.