The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has extended its agreement for Saudi Arabia to stage its Supercopa de España, with the Kingdom now set to host the annual club competition through to 2029.
In November 2019, the RFEF agreed an initial three-year deal for the Supercopa to be held in Saudi Arabia, but this has since been complicated by COVID-19. The agreement commenced last year as Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City Stadium (pictured) hosted the 2019-20 tournament from January 8-12, 2020.
Real Madrid defeated Atlético de Madrid in the final of a reshaped Supercopa. From 2020, the Supercopa became a four-team tournament in a change from its previous format, which saw the winners of the previous season’s LaLiga and Copa del Rey compete in a two-legged final.
The outbreak of the global pandemic meant that the 2020-21 tournament had to be played in Spain, with the final taking place at Seville’s Estadio La Cartuja on January 17 this year. News of a mooted extension to the Saudi deal was first reported by Spanish sports business website 2Playbook on Monday and was confirmed as the RFEF staged its ordinary general assembly meeting yesterday (Tuesday).
RFEF president Luis Rubiales stated that the contract with Saudi Arabia has been extended by a further four years. The RFEF reported losses of €4.1m (£3.52m/$5m) for the 2020 financial year, compared to the €592,000 profit the previous year.
Rubiales said the new Saudi deal, in exchange for the Government of Saudi Arabia not claiming discounts for the loss of this year’s tournament, will allow the RFEF to grant 100% of the financial aid promised to clubs most affected by COVID-19.
The new agreement entails the triggering of an automatic three-year renewal, plus an extra four years, according to 2Playbook, meaning 10 editions in total. The contract is worth in excess of €30m per year to the RFEF, with the federation now set to be guaranteed income of between €240m and €320m over the next eight seasons.
Image: saudipics/CC BY-SA 4.0/Edited for size
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