Why the Supercopa de Espana 2023/24 is hosted in Saudi Arabia

Those that comply with the Premier League or the Bundesliga are used to their Neighborhood Defend/Tremendous Cup being performed in the beginning of a brand new marketing campaign, however that isn’t the case in each La Liga and Serie A.

Spain’s Supercopa de Espana takes place part-way by way of the season and the 2023/24 version will pit final season’s La Liga winners, La Liga runners up, Copa del Rey winners and Copa del Rey finalists towards one different.

There’s an added layer of complication thrown into the combo too – the actual fact the Supercopa de Espana would not really happen in Spain, and hasn’t carried out so for the previous few years.

The format of the Supercopa was revised in 2019 by the Spanish Soccer Federation and it now includes of 4 groups in a mini-tournament, reasonably than a one-off match such as you would see in England or Germany.

The 2023/24 version options Barcelona (La Liga winners), Actual Madrid (Copa del Rey winners), Atletico Madrid (third in La Liga, eligible as Actual Madrid had been second) and Osasuna (Copa del Rey runners-up.

Actual Madrid shall be going through Atletico Madrid in one of many semi-finals, and Barcelona will tackle Osasuna within the different. The winners will contest the ultimate and a champion shall be topped.

You’ll be nicely inside your proper to ask why on earth this is not taking place in Spain. The groups are Spanish and the competitors is run by Spain’s soccer federation. That is trendy soccer, although, so issues will not be that straightforward.

The Saudi Arabian determined to pay the Spanish federation €30m for every version of the match till 2029 and in sport, cash talks.

It has been worthwhile for the federation however it was definitely not a preferred determination from the gamers and followers’ perspective. In 2022, Athletic Bilbao midfielder Raul Garcia labelled it “full nonsense” and claimed that “followers have been forgotten” as a result of “soccer now could be all about earning profits and discovering sponsors.”

The now-disgraced Luis Rubiales was fast to defend to the choice on the time, saying: “We took a sport that was forgotten in the midst of summer season and made it into a global occasion.”

The 2023/24 version is being held on the Al-Awwal Stadium, which is residence to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr.

Italy has headed in the identical path as Spain within the sense {that a} deal was signed in 2018 with the Basic Sports activities Authority that may see three of the subsequent 5 editions of the Supercoppa Italiana be hosted in Saudi Arabia. The 2023 version of the Supercoppa shall be performed in January 2024 and that’s the first to function 4 groups, transferring to the identical format that Spain is utilizing.

READ THE LATEST LA LIGA NEWS, RUMOURS & GOSSIP