Italian Super Cup Between Juventus & Milan Will Be Played On January 16th in Saudi Arabia

Serie A have confirmed that the Supercoppa Italiana will be played in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on January 16th, with a kick off time of 18:30. 

Earlier this summer it had been confirmed by Italy's governing body that three of the next five iterations of the fixture would be played in the country, after agreeing a deal with Saudi Arabia's General Sports Authority (GSA) that was reported to be worth around €7m.

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It was understood that 90% of that fee would go to Juventus and Milan respectively, with the remaining 10% going to the league.

At the time, as quoted by SportsPro, the Lega Serie A chief executive Marco Brunelli declared:

“The confirmation of an important market like Saudi Arabia to host this match testifies the appeal that Italian football exerts all over the world. The promotion of our brand goes through these agreements, necessary to favour the arrival of new investors in our championship.”

And now, as reported by Goal, the league have declared in an official statement: "The race for the award of the Italian Super Cup 2018/2019, the 31st edition of the trophy, will be held in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), at the 'King Abdullah Sports City Stadium', Wednesday 16 January 2019, beginning at 20.30 local time (18.30 Italian time)."

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The game is traditionally contested by the winner of the Scudetto and the winner of the Coppa Italia, much like England's Community Shield and Spain's Super Cup. However, with I Bianconeri triumphing in both in 2017/18, the spot has been given to beaten cup finalists Milan.

Next year's edition will be the tenth time the game has been played abroad, following previous excursions to Qatar, the U.S., Libya and China.