🇪🇺 Uefa considers Super Cup with 4 teams outside Europe, says report

The UEFA Super Cup may be transformed into a tournament with four teams, according to information from the Telegraph.

This change opens up the possibility for the game that traditionally kicks off the European calendar to be played outside Europe, with the United States or the Middle East emerging as likely destinations.

Currently, the match is contested between the winners of the Champions League and the Europa League.

This year, Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur face each other this Wednesday at 3:00 PM.

The 2025 edition will take place in Udine, in Friuli, home of Udinese – Zico’s former team in Italy – at the stadium currently called Bluenergy Stadium, with a capacity of only 25,000 fans.

According to European press reports, Udinese’s stadium was the only one to submit a bid to host the game, which will be held in Italy for the first time.

Udine sought the event after being left out of the initial list of ten Italian cities – a number that will be reduced to five – proposed to jointly host Euro 2032 with Turkey.

Despite having a modern arena, the city is small, has no airport, limited hotel options, and no structured public transport – only special buses on match day – to reach the stadium.

UEFA only confirmed Udine as the host last December, after checking which cities would apply, but there were no other interested parties.

The body that governs European football had already considered revamping the Super Cup. In a 2022 document for the sale of TV rights for the 2024-2027 cycle, a “Champions League opening tournament” was mentioned.

The idea would involve four clubs, with two semifinals and a final. No further details were given about the qualification criteria, beyond the two already existing, since winning the Europa League guarantees a spot in the Champions League.

According to the Telegraph, the project was quietly dropped, but it may return to the table in the new round of broadcast rights negotiations, conducted by UEFA and Relevent, a newly contracted American company to sell media rights.

Also according to the English newspaper, the expectation is that European broadcasters will not significantly increase their offers, but that Relevent will seek to tap into the growing market in the US, where there is great interest in official club matches played outside Europe.

Games outside Europe

This week, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) presented plans to hold, on December 21, a La Liga match between Barcelona and Villarreal at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

The proposal was approved internally and now the RFEF will seek authorization from UEFA and FIFA, although there is opposition from fan groups and Real Madrid.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has already stated that the possibility of Champions League games outside Europe, especially in the United States, is being discussed and is “possible.”

Since 2020, the Spanish Super Cup, which was expanded to four teams, has been played in Saudi Arabia, with a contract signed until 2029.

The French Ligue 1 has also taken its “Super Cup” abroad since 2009, with editions in Canada, Morocco, China, and more recently, Qatar.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 SERGEI GAPON - AFP or licensors