Why the Spanish Super Cup Is Played Abroad: From Tangier to Istanbul
For most of its history the Spanish Super Cup never left Spain. From the first edition in 1982 it was a two-legged tie between the league champions and the cup winners, played at the two clubs' own grounds. The first break came on 12 August 2018, when the trophy was decided in a single match at a neutral venue: Ibn Batouta Stadium in Tangier, Morocco. Barcelona beat Sevilla 2–1 there, with Gerard Piqué and Ousmane Dembélé scoring after Pablo Sarabia had put Sevilla ahead.
The bigger change followed in 2019. Under president Luis Rubiales, the RFEF expanded the tournament to four clubs, moved it from the summer to January and signed a deal with Saudi Arabia worth €40 million per edition for an initial three seasons. The first four-club edition was played at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah on 8–12 January 2020, and Real Madrid beat Atlético Madrid on penalties in the final after a goalless 120 minutes. A year later the pandemic kept the tournament at home: the January 2021 edition was split between Córdoba, Málaga and Seville, and Athletic Club beat Barcelona 3–2 after extra time in the final at La Cartuja.
The Saudi agreement was later extended to 2029, and from 2022 the Super Cup was back in Saudi Arabia each January. Riyadh staged the 2022, 2023 and 2024 editions — the first two at King Fahd International Stadium, the third at King Saud University Stadium — before the tournament went back to King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah in 2025 and 2026. The money matters to the federation: in its 2026 budget the RFEF projects €51.9 million from the tournament, about 12% of its expected income, according to El Debate.
The 2027 edition breaks the run for one season. Saudi Arabia hosts the AFC Asian Cup at the same time, so the RFEF moved the tournament to Istanbul and from January into February — only the second time since 2020 that it has left Saudi Arabia. The semi-finals are on 2 and 3 February, and the final is at Rams Park on Saturday 6 February at 22:00 local time. According to FC Barcelona, the competition returns to Saudi Arabia the following season, so this is the only Istanbul edition planned: Spanish Super Cup final tickets.