Serie A has gotten a sizeable offer from Saudi Arabia to host the Supercoppa for the next six years. The counterpart demanded a format change to make it to a final four. Inter and Milan will square off in Riyad on January 18th. It will be the third edition in such country in the past five years, as previously agreed upon.
As Milano Finanza reports, the local authorities have tendered €138M, plus to cover travel expenses, to organize the competition in the future. The bid would rake in €23M annually, thrice as much as the precedent deal.
Saudi Arabia officials asked the change the formula of the Supercoppa. if accepted, it would feature three matches and not just one. The two runner-ups would join the Scudetto and Coppa Italia winners in this scenario. La Liga switched to something similar in recent years.
Serie A CEO Luigi De Siervo and other emissaries will visit the country in the next few days to negotiate the contract terms, potentially drawing more money. The League was considering other foreign destinations before this opportunity arose.
Our Take on the Supercoppa
The new format would be fun, on top of more profitable. It’s easy to imagine the cash-strapped sides of the Peninsula taking the deal. On the other hand, it would be better if the competition resumed taking place at the start of the season, as an appetizer to ease into it, as it traditionally happened. Playing it during the winter has taken away some of its appeal and led to scheduling problems.
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