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Saudi Arabia has strengthened its ties to African football with the announcement that the 2023 African Super Cup will be played in the Saudi city of Taif next month.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) have agreed a deal for the current African Champions League champions, Al Ahly of Egypt, to play Algeria’s USMA, winners of the CAF Confederation Cup, in a one-off match at Taif’s King Sports City Stadium (pictured) on September 15.
The announcement follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two bodies earlier this year. At the signing, CAF president Patrice Motsepe spoke of the agreement opening up “mutually beneficial partnerships” between the confederation and Saudi Arabia.
Previously, the CAF Super Cup has been played in Qatar while Saudi Arabia has also hosted the Spanish Super Cup and the Supercoppa Italiana.
CAF general secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba said: “We are excited to take the TotalEnergies CAF Super Cup to a new territory in Saudi Arabia – a country that has been making significant strides in global football. African football ranks amongst the best in the world right now, and it’s fitting that, in an era where many international stars are heading to Saudi Arabia, African Football is also a part of this movement.”
Ibrahim Alkassim SAFF general secretary added: “Our collaboration with CAF to host this event exemplifies our commitment to partnering with CAF in event hosting and match organisation in line with our existing partnership. This event marks yet another milestone in our ongoing collaboration.”
Earlier this month, SAFF announced a major global sponsorship deal with Spain’s LaLiga and a development partnership with the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) as it continues to develop relations with other leagues and federations in anticipation of a possible Saudi bid for the Fifa World Cup, either in 2030 or 2034.
In addition to its investment in Newcastle United via the Public Investment Fund and the enormous spending on the Saudi Pro League this summer, SAFF has struck development agreements with individual federations in Bangladesh, Botswana, Brunei, China, Comoros, Croatia, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Kuwait, Maldives, Nepal, Singapore, Somalia and Tajikistan.
Earlier this month, SportBusiness reported that CAF had opted for a slimmed-down, eight-team version of its proposed African Football League after expected funding from the SAFF failed to materialise.
