Rafael Louzan, the new president of the RFEF, has revealed the Spanish soccer federation is in talks to continue staging the Supercopa de España competition in Saudi Arabia until 2034.
The current agreement between the Kingdom and the RFEF is not due to expire until 2029 but the two parties are keen to agree a five-year extension.
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Louzan announced the renewal talks around the final of this season's edition, in which Barcelona beat bitter rivals Real Madrid 5-2 in Jeddah on Sunday night (January 12).
The RFEF president, who was elected in December, also confirmed that there are plans to create a women’s Supercopa.
He told Movistar Plus: “Yes, that's what we're working on – renewing the men's Super Cup agreement until 2034. We're also working on having a women's Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
“It's something we've made progress on in recent days. We're very happy with the empathy we've had with the government and the authorities. It's time to endorse the work we've done.
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By GlobalData“We are going to sign a new letter of intent as there has been no progress since the previous contract. We are working with the Saudi government and I expect important developments in the future.”
The RFEF is seeking to extend its relationship with Saudi Arabia despite an ongoing corruption and money laundering investigation into the deal to take the Supercopa to the country by Spanish authorities.
Disgraced former RFEF president Luis Rubiales, who negotiated the initial deal, was arrested in April 2023 concerning that agreement.
He was accused of receiving illegal commissions during the negotiation process but was released soon after his detention, with police also searching his home.
Prosecutors said that the operation was part of a wider investigation into allegations of corruption in business, improper management of assets, and money laundering.
The Super Cup was moved to Saudi Arabia in 2020, in a deal reportedly worth more than €40 million ($41 million) per year.
Five of the last six editions of the competition have been staged in the Kingdom, with the exception of 2021 (due to the Covid-19 pandemic) when it was held in Spain.
Rubiales was initially replaced by Pedro Rocha as RFEF president in April this year but he was forced to quickly step down having also been under investigation in the corruption case over the Supercopa deal.
A month before the investigation began, a Spanish news website published leaked audio of conversations between Rubiales and former Barcelona player, Gerard Piqué, in which they seemingly discussed millions of dollars in commissions for taking the Supercopa to the Gulf kingdom.
The recordings, which were brought to light by the El Confidencial newspaper, put Pique – a senior player at heavyweights Barcelona at the time – and his Kosmos firm (set up in 2017 to handle Pique’s commercial affairs) in the spotlight as they seemed to outline a commission payment of €24 million made to Kosmos for helping to set up the six-year deal between the RFEF and the Saudi soccer authorities.
The Supercopa deal, struck in 2019, also expanded what had been a one-game competition to a four-match affair featuring four teams (the LaLiga and Copa del Rey winners, as well as the beaten Copa del Rey finalists and second-placed LaLiga team).
The deal came to €240 million in total, with Kosmos reportedly securing a 10% commission out of that sum.
Article 24 in the RFEF’s statutes makes it clear that the federation should not pay a commission to any entity for setting up commercial deals it has involvement in.
Pique and Rubiales have consistently denied any wrongdoing, with the latter claiming that the RFEF and the Saudis negotiated together directly and that there was no commission paid.
Of the €40 million annual figure, the RFEF takes half, with the remaining €20 million split between the four teams, albeit unequally with Barcelona and Real Madrid often receiving the largest share.
Further complaints about the financial distribution were made this year by the other two participants, Athletic Club and Mallorca (who both lost at the semi-final stage).
Barca and Real Madrid reportedly received a minimum of €6 million each, with the winner receiving €8 million.
Louzan has opted to open negotiations before next year’s edition to ensure that the smaller clubs get a bigger share of the income.
A longer-term deal will also see the Spanish and Saudi soccer bodies forge closer ties with both countries recently being confirmed as rights to host future editions of the men's FIFA World Cup.
Spain will co-host the 2030 edition with Portugal and Morocco, while Saudi Arabia will stage the tournament by itself in 2034.
