The Supercoppa Italiana is played in Riyadh tonight and Lega chief Lorenzo Casini confirms they are now ‘evaluating’ whether to play an entire Serie A round abroad too, looking to the United States and India.
The decision to take the Supercoppa to Saudi Arabia has proved controversial to many supporters and Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri was the most vocal critic, noting they would “take the money and run.”
If it was supposed to be an advertisement for Italian football, then seeing an attendance of just 9,700 for the semi-final between Napoli and Fiorentina was counter-productive.
At least the Al-Awwal Park Stadium in Riyadh is practically sold out this evening for the Final between Napoli and Inter.
However, it has certainly not put the Lega Serie A off from trying this sort of experiment again in future and expanding their horizons even further, with Casini confirming they are looking into playing an entire Serie A round abroad.
“It is something we are evaluating, looking at the pros and cons. Obviously, among the cons is that the local fans would miss an entire round of Serie A games.
“The venue would need to be determined and at this moment that also would not be possible without the authorisation of FIFA and UEFA.”
As for the Supercoppa, moving it outside of Italy is hardly a new idea, as there were already editions in the 1990s played in the USA and Libya, more recently in Saudi Arabia and China.
“Saudi Arabia is a reference point for several years now: just look at all they are doing ahead of the 2030 Expo and the 2032 World Cup, so it was important for us to be here,” continued Casini.
“As Serie A, this gives us the possibility to form not just commercial relations, but also diplomatic ones. In future we could look to the United States, thinking of their investment for the 2026 World Cup, while India is a country where they don’t just play cricket and Alessandro Del Piero already went there for football.”
This 2024 edition was also historic, being the first to expand to a Final Four with the runners-up too and not just the winners of the Scudetto and Coppa Italia.
“The clubs tell me they are satisfied with how things went, especially as it is the first time we have experimented this format. Obviously, everything can be improved.
“We have not yet discussed it, but I would not underestimate the idea of using a Final Four format in Italy too.”
🗣️#SerieA, il futuro secondo #Casini: "Turno all'estero e Supercoppa in India" https://t.co/8nrPMuoisW
— Tuttosport (@tuttosport) January 22, 2024