First Ever Supercoppa Italiana Semi-Final Played In Front Of 15,000 Empty Seats In Saudi Arabia

Napoli beat Fiorentina 3-0 in front of more than 15,000 empty seats in Saudi Arabia after ticket sales for the first ever Supercoppa Italiana semi-final fell flat.

Thursday's game took place at the 25,000-seater King Saud University Stadium, also known as Al-Awwal Park.

But the official attendance in Riyadh was just 9,762.

Inter Milan will face Lazio in the other semi-final on Friday.

The 2023 Supercoppa Italiana - which is actually taking place in 2024 - is the 36th edition of the competition.

However, it is the first to include four teams, rather than two.

Napoli players pictured celebrating a goal during their 3-0 win over Fiorentina in Saudi Arabia in the semi-finals of the 2023 Supercoppa Italiana

IMAGO/Gribaudi/ImagePhoto/Daniele Buffa

Three previous finals have been held in Saudi Arabia.

The 2018 final, which saw Cristiano Ronaldo fire Juventus to a 1-0 win over AC Milan, was witnessed by 61,235 fans in Jeddah.

Last year's final was played in front of a crowd of 51,357 at Riyadh's King Fahd Sports City.

The low attendance at Thursday's semi-final could be linked to timing.

It came less than a week after Real Madrid and Barcelona had clashed in the final of Spain's four-team Supercopa de Espana, which was also staged in Saudi Arabia.

Real and Barca are much more popular in the Middle East than any of Italy's top teams, especially since Ronaldo left Juventus in 2021.

Ronaldo now plays his club soccer at Riyadh's Al-Awwal Park for local side Al Nassr.

The likes of Karim Benzema, Sadio Mane and Riyad Mahrez also play in the Saudi Pro League following last summer's nationwide recruitment drive.

Therefore, Saudi fans can now watch elite soccer stars in action every week, making European roadshows like the Supercoppa Italiana much less special.

Cristiano Ronaldo has played his domestic club soccer in Saudi Arabia since January 2023

IMAGO/Sports Press Photo/Alexandre Neto

The Supercoppa Italiana was launched back in 1988 and it first went on tour in 1993 when it came to RFK Stadium in Washington.

It has since been held in Tripoli, New Jersey, Beijing, Shanghai and Doha, as well as at multiple venues across Italy and, more recently, Saudi Arabia.

Although Thursday's evidence could suggest that a new host nation may be needed to freshen up the event, Saudi Arabia has already signed up to stage the tournament in 2026 and 2027.