President of the Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales has cited the World Cup as a similar example of cultural development to Saudi Arabia hosting the Spanish Supercup.
Rubiales has pointed the finger at his rival Javier Tebas, President of La Liga, in the past for chasing the money by trying to host La Liga fixtures in the United States of America. Understandably, he himself has come under criticism for agreeing a deal to host the Spanish Supercup in Saudi Arabia. It’s been reported by Diario AS that the RFEF has received around €250-320m for the ten year deal.
Asked whether he agreed with FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s statements that football should be used to bring people and cultures together, AS carried his response.
“I am completely in agreement with his words. I think that in certain countries where human rights are understood in a differently to the way they are in Europe, you can act in two ways: turning your back on them or try to go and make them see that there are other ways of doing things.”
Rubiales then went further, explaining that that was the part of the reason the RFEF wanted to hold the Spanish Supercup in Saudi Arabia.
“It’s what we are trying to do in a lot of respects in Saudi Arabia. We managed to close an important agreement with women’s football. There is now a women’s league since we went there and it’s been mentored by ourselves. The women can go into the stadiums in exactly the same conditions as men, since we arrived, because we included in the agreement.
“Here in Qatar they’ve been speaking about different reports on assessments, agreements with LGTBIQ syndicates and collectives. We have to evolve and if football serves as a tool for evolution, it must be used in every possible situation.”
That agreement with Saudi Arabia is valid for ten years and started in 2019, although it had to break in 2021 due to the pandemic. This year’s edition saw Real Madrid win the Supercup after a 2-0 victory over Athletic Club.
