Why is the 2025 Spanish Super Cup being played in Saudi Arabia?

Since 2020, Real Madrid and Barcelona have been among the regular LaLiga visitors to the Gulf nation in the Spanish Super Cup.

The 2025 Spanish Super Cup gets underway on Wednesday (January 8), with the final-four format once again to be staged in Saudi Arabia. While the last three editions have taken place in Riyadh, this year’s tournament will be held in Jeddah, which previously hosted in 2020.

2025 Spanish Super Cup: teams, games, dates, venue

Athletic Club, the winners of the 2023/24 Copa del Rey, will take on LaLiga runners-up Barcelona in Wednesday’s first semifinal, with league champions Real Madrid facing beaten cup finalists Mallorca in the other last-four clash on Thursday (January 9).

The final is scheduled for Sunday, January 12. All three games in the tournament will be played at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.

Spain moves Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia

In 2019, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and Saudi government penned a lucrative deal that would see the new expanded format moving to the Gulf region. That agreement was then extended to 10 years in 2021.

The initiative broke away from the previous Super Cup model that acted as a new season curtain raiser with the previous Copa del Rey winner facing the reigning LaLiga champion.

The original 2019 deal was reportedly worth $120 million and the extension will take us through until at least 2029.

Criticism came from many, with Amnesty International leading the protests and accused the Spanish FA of “collaboration in this ‘whitewashing’ of the image of Saudi Arabia”, where it said there had been very little improvement in the “the systematic abuse of the homosexual community and continued discrimination against women.”

It is estimated that the RFEF makes €40 million ($41.35 million) per year from staging the tournament in Saudi Arabia. Spain are one of several countries who have taken their version of the Super Cup to the Gulf, with Italy, Turkey and most recently France following suit.

Saudi investment in sport

Boxing, Formula 1, golf, WWE and soccer are among the ever-increasing number of sports Saudi Arabia has heavily invested in as it looks to present a new image to a global audience.

In the summer of 2023 alone, Saudi Pro League clubs’ gross spend was $957 million as the likes of Karim Benzema, Sadio Mané, Neymar, Fabinho, Aymeric Laporte and many others joined Cristiano Ronaldo in the Roshn Saudi League.

2034 FIFA World Cup hosting controversy

The 2034 FIFA World Cup will also be hosted in the Gulf nation. The awarding of the tournament has proven hugely controversial as Saudi Arabia was confirmed as host following an uncontested bidding process.

FIFA had restricted hosting eligibility to Asia and Oceania, with sceptics claiming world soccer’s governing body had bent their own rules to ensure the event would take place in Saudi Arabia, which continues to plough money into the spot.