Turkish Super Cup to be played in Saudi Arabia despite clubs requesting otherwise

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The Turkish Football Federation on Nov. 23 announced that the Super Cup match between the champion Galatasaray and the league runner-up Fenerbahçe would be played in Saudi Arabia on Dec. 29.

The move came despite both clubs requesting to play the match in Turkey in the centennial of the foundation of the Turkish Republic.

In a statement, the TFF said they were working to increase the brand value of Turkish football and to reach new markets.

“As TFF, we are carrying out very important projects to strengthen the economy of Turkish football and create alternative sources of income for our clubs. We aim to generate more income through new sponsorship and cooperation models by carrying the prestige of our football abroad, just like the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A do,” it said and added that this decision was taken in line with this vision.

The match will be played at Al-Awwal Park (King Saud University) Stadium in Riyadh.

Galatasaray Chair Dursun Özbek previously announced that his club requested the match to be played in Turkey “on the 100th anniversary of our Republic,” whereas Fenerbahçe requested it to be played at Atatürk Olympic Stadium or Samsun May 19 Stadium.

After the controversies, the TFF head Mehmet Büyükekşi said “We wanted to play in Germany. Germany did not allow the two Turkish teams to play a match for security reasons. England rejected for the same reasoning. No European country allows it. Azerbaijan invited us but there is no money there. Organizing the Super Cup in Saudi Arabia will be beneficial for the brand value of Turkish football.”

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