Italian Super Cup to be held in Milan with Saudi plans shelved

Saudi Arabia had hosted the competition in 2018 and 2019, which is played between Serie A champion and the winner of the Coppa Italia.

The Super Cup match, which will be between Inter Milan and Juventus this time, is expected to take place at the San Siro in Milan. (File Photo)

This season's Italian Super Cup is set to be held in Milan next January after Italy's top flight football league shelved plans to host the showpiece in Saudi Arabia, two sources have told Reuters .

The match, contested by the Serie A champion and winner of the Coppa Italia, was traditionally held at the start of the season but has been played halfway through the campaign in recent years, often in foreign venues.

Saudi Arabia hosted the competition in 2018 and 2019 after signing a deal with the Italian league to hold three of the next five editions in the kingdom although the 2020 edition was held in the Italian city of Reggio Emilia without spectators due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Serie A champion Inter Milan will play Coppa Italia winner Juventus in this season's Super Cup.

Italian league president Paolo Dal Pino had said in May that the competition would return to Saudi Arabia due to the contract signed in 2018 although two sources told Reuters that the match would take place at the San Siro, instead.

Serie A wants to negotiate a new contract with Saudi Arabia to host the Super Cup, but no new deal has yet been agreed.

The Italian league did not immediately respond to a request for comment