Barcelona, Real Madrid Oppose The Supercopa Being Played In China

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) already has an agreement in place for the Supercopa to be played in China, but it needs the Asamblea del Futbol to ratify it, "which Madrid and Barcelona are not disposed to do," according to J.M. of AS. The tournament, currently played with a home-and-away series on Spanish territory, will start being played in China in '13. That is the deal that the RFEF signed with United Vansen Int'l Sport. The agreement is worth €40M ($50M) over five years. For the deal to be complete, however, the RFEF needs the Asamblea del Futbol to ratify it, which Real Madrid and Barcelona are not willing to do because of "economic and sporting reasons." RFEF President Angel Maria Villar "has one year to convince the clubs," since the first edition of the Supercopa in Beijing is scheduled for Aug. '13. According to the criterion of Madrid and Barça, Villar "acted unilaterally in the negotiations with China, ignoring the interests of all the clubs, in the LFP." The LFP will "join the complaint from the two clubs, and the RFEF will have to let go or there will be a conflict" (AS, 8/22).