Sand Super Cup settled in China? There are still many uncertainties in the resumption of the Mainland Business Competition

Written by Han Bing To the surprise of most people, China is hosting an official international club competition for the first time in seven years, and it is likely to be the Saudi Super Cup. Recently, a number of authoritative Saudi media revealed that the 2025 Saudi Super Cup will be held from August 19 to 23, and the venue may be located in China. Riyadh TV even said that Jeddah United, the Saudi league and cup double, plans to set up the second phase of preseason preparations in China, which is the clearest hint.

Official competitions such as the Super Cup seem to be preferred over the more variable club commercial competitions.

This year's Saudi Super Cup is played by Jeddah United, Riyadh Crescent, Riyadh Victory and Qadisiyah, and they play two semi-finals and one final, along with Spain and Italy.

This year's Saudi Super Cup brings Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema to the two Ballon d'Or, as well as N'Golo Kante, Fabinho, Sadio Mane, Brozovic, Laporte, Koulibaly, Ruben Neves, Milinkovic, Mitrovic, Cancelo and other first-class stars, as well as new stars who may join four teams this summer, which is quite attractive to Chinese fans. However, whether it can be successfully settled in China still has to be marked with a big question mark.

Saudi media stressed that the premise of China's hosting is that Ronaldo must participate in the competition to ensure attendance and commercial promotion. China's hosting of the Saudi Super Cup has even become one of Ronaldo's considerations in the future. China would prefer to see Cristiano Ronaldo move to Riyadh Crescent rather than Jeddah Nationals, who have just won the AFC Champions League. As Riyadh Crescent is more likely to reach the final of the Saudi Super Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo will be able to play all two matches, while Jeddah National has not qualified. The latest indications show that Ronaldo's contract with Riyadh is more likely to be renewed - only if Ronaldo's future is confirmed, and the Saudi Super Cup settled in China can there be a realistic negotiation.

The peak of China's hosting of international club competitions began in 2009, and the Bird's Nest has hosted the Italian Super Cup three times in four years. Inter Milan, Lazio, AC Milan, Juventus, Napoli have come to China to play, Juventus vs Napoli in 2012 the number of spectators reached 75,000, but in 2015 Juventus against Lazio, the 72,000-capacity Shanghai Stadium attracted only 20,000 spectators.

The last time China hosted an official international club competition was the 2019 French Super Cup in Shenzhen. From 2014 to 2019, China hosted the French Super Cup three times, and the same declining attractiveness. In 2019, the Shenzhen Universiade Center, which can accommodate 60,000 people, only had 22,000 people entered.

In recent years, China's hosting of commercial tournaments has not been smooth, and in the summer of 2023, the Argentine team visited China, and there were many mistakes and mistakes in the organization of the tournament, but the tournament was finally completed smoothly. The Riyadh Victory Business Match in Shenzhen in January 2024 and the Argentine national team's visit to China in March were cancelled for some reason, resulting in the mainland not hosting the international business match at all last year. Before the rumors of the Saudi Super Cup settled in China this year, there were rumors that the Argentine team's Asian tour would settle in China in October. But compared to the Saudi Super Cup, this news is more doubtful.

Last year, European giants re-developed the East and Southeast Asian markets, and this summer Manchester United has taken the lead in ending their Asian tour, with Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and AC Milan choosing Hong Kong to play at the newly completed Kai Tak Sports Park. However, Manchester United ended in a hurry, which also left unpleasant memories for the organizers. The delay in the Saudi Super Cup and Argentina's Asian tour has also raised concerns about the return of international club competitions to the mainland.

Hosting high-level international competitions is one of the important incentives for the future development of Chinese football. In addition to the official competitions involving the national teams of all age groups as hosts, commercial matches or official matches of European and American national teams and club giants are very important to stimulate the football industry and consumption in the mainland.