October 7 – The Italian Super Cup final between last winners Serie A champions Juventus and Coppa Italia winners Naples will be played later this year in Qatar, it was announced yesterday at the Aspire Global Summit in Paris.
Scheduled for Monday December 22, the game will be played as the last match before the Italians take their Winter break.
Aspire Zone Foundation CEO Khalid Abdullah Al Sulaiteen made the announcement alongside Serie A President Maurizio Beretta and Qatar Football Association General Secretary Saoud Al Mohannadi.
The Super Cup has been played for the past two seasons in Beijing, China, as the opener to the Italian season.
Beretta did not rule out the Super Cup being played in future years in Qatar but said: “It is (in Qatar for) one year at the moment… we have a contract with a partner in China and we have to play one match more there. The contract is just for this final match but we can look at the future (for playing in Qatar again).”
Al Sulaiteen said that “Aspire wants to host a number of initiatives such as this one involving the world’s leading players, teams and officials.” Al Mohannadi said that the principal benefit for Qatar is that its young players will get to experience first-hand a top level match and the quality of play that they are aiming for.
Al Mohannadi said that the decision over which stadium to play the Doha match in will be made at a later date. He also said that a local entertainment and cultural programme will be organised around the final.
The Italians have played the Super Cup in the recent past, in Libya and the US as well as three times in China (2009, 2011 and 2012). Champions Juventus won last year’s Super Cup 4-0 in Rome.
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