The Spanish mini-tournament in Arabia is nothing new. It has been held since January 2020. Spanish football collects a lot of money for the short tournament, the figure is close to a billion crowns. The event is supposed to amuse the rich sheikhs, but the players themselves are not having much fun.
“It’s a shame that such a nice game is played so far away. If it was closer, the stadium would be full of our fans,” raves Iňaki Williams of Bilbao.
Athletic will play the semi-final of the Super Cup against Barcelona on January 7th, where it would take less than an hour by plane from Bilbao. Instead, Basque faces an almost ten-hour flight to Jeddah, and even the most loyal supporters don’t want to trudge there.
Just for completeness, the Madrid semi-final between Real and Atlético will be played in Saudi Arabia the day after Athletic meet Barcelona.
The final is scheduled for Jeddah on January 11.
Captain Williams holds the line with criticism of the entire Super Bowl. Already last year, he made it known that the idea was nonsense. As this year approaches, his malice only grows stronger. He also writes family matters into it.
“It’s pretty annoying when I’m about to become a father for the first time, but I have to leave my wife,” he snapped. “Plus, when we play in Arabia, we’re like the visiting team.”
Williams’ teammate Unai Simón also expressed a similar negative opinion about the tournament. “Instead of 40,000 to 50,000 fans, two to three thousand will travel from Spain,” the goalkeeper said in a November interview for AS. “And the number of people will continue to dwindle. Those who have been there don’t want to go back. Even my family members definitely won’t be going there this year.”
Server The Athletic recalls that Spanish fan organizations are warning female fans that they may be sexually harassed in Arabia. Last year, the partners of Real Mallorca footballers experienced discomfort directly in the stands.
The football trip also thickens the match schedule for Bilbao and other Spanish giants at the beginning of the year. For example, Athletic plays a league duel with Osasuna on Saturday, January 3, and flies to the Red Sea in two days.
“It’s shit,” criticized the Super Cup and well-known Spanish presenter Iňaki López on the X network. “But that’s what sportwashing is about. The four-team competition is supposed to hide the smell of the regime in power.”
Major protests forced Spain’s La Liga to cancel Barcelona’s December league match with Villarreal recently. Even persistent criticism does not move the Arab action.
The Spanish Football Federation has a contract with the Sheikhs signed until 2029.
