A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUPER CUP

The Spanish Super Cup will be played from January 7 until January 12 in Saudi Arabia, involving Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Valencia. Like Italy did a few weeks ago, this trophy will be played on foreign territory, a measure to attract more international fans as well to push TV ratings. But is this an example that all federations should be looking forward to in the future?

The answer is quite straightforward. No. Even if the demand was enormous, which clearly isn’t, moving these matches to a country far away from where the league is played, takes away the enjoyment from the fans of the teams that are participating. Travelling from Spain to Saudi Arabia is already expensive, add to that the tournament being in the middle of the week, on a country with very strict alcohol laws, making it hard for tourists to fully enjoy the experience. Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Rodrigo are confirmed to be out for the 1st Super Cup semi-final, one more factor for the disappointing reports that came out today.

Atletico Madrid have sold a grand total of 50 tickets for their Spanish Super Cup semi-final in Saudi Arabia.



The modern game. ???? pic.twitter.com/nIVYGbVbgp — Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) January 3, 2020

All four teams combined only sold approximately 1076 tickets at the moment. Dreadful numbers for a tournament that involves two of the biggest teams in the World.

Real Madrid - 700 tickets sold



Barcelona - 300 tickets sold



Atletico Madrid - 50 tickets sold



Valencia - 26 tickets sold

Will this be a norm for years to come? The federations have a reason for this events to take place away from their country, as the financial return they get is much bigger than if it was played at Santiago Bernabeu per example. However, does such profit implies the unimportance of the competition to go along a clear lack of fans from all four teams in the stadium? A format that should be rethought after this year’s Super Cup is finalized.