The Spanish trophy’s derided trip to Jeddah sees
Barcelona fans buying just 300 tickets and Valencia shifting as few as 27
The sports newspaper Mundo Deportivo last week offered advice for football fans travelling to Spain’s new, revamped Supercopa, which begins with Valencia v
Real Madrid on Wednesday night and Barcelona v Atlético on Thursday before Sunday evening’s final between the winners. The fourth of an eight-point checklist informed them they would not be allowed to take ham or any pork product, “even if it is vacuum packed”. A couple of days later one Barcelona fan told the radio show El Larguero that he would be doing so anyway but not many will defy the rules – if only because not many will travel at all.
Atlético Madrid have sold 50 tickets, according to one fans’ group. El Mundo calculated that Valencia have sold 27, Barcelona around 300 and Madrid almost 700, although most of those are to people who happened to be near the King Abdullah Sports City stadium in Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia, where the competition is being held. When it comes to supporters travelling specifically for the games, it said there were fewer than 200, paying upwards of £2,000, and – according to AS – as few as 40 Madrid fans making the journey for the semi-final. Of the tickets the clubs had available they have sold less than 10%, although most have not been sold at all. They have been given away.