Soccer-Spanish Super Cup to be played abroad under new format - federation president

The Spanish Super Cup is to undergo a radical transformation under which it will expand to four teams, with two semi finals and a final all to be played outside Spain, Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) President Luis Rubiales said on Tuesday. "The next Super Cup will be played outside of Spain with a 'final four' format," Rubiales said at a news conference on Tuesday, without giving details of where the games would take place.

Rubiales, who became RFEF president in May 2018, broke with tradition last year by turning the traditional season curtain raiser between the La Liga champions and the Copa del Rey winners from a two-legged tie into a single game played in Tangier, Morocco, where Barcelona beat Sevilla 2-1. Rubiales is a fierce opponent of La Liga's plans to play Spanish top flight games abroad and his organisation blocked a proposal to move a game between Girona and Barcelona last month to Miami.

Barcelona withdrew from the proposed Miami game, citing a lack of consensus over the idea, although their president Josep Maria Bartomeu said earlier this month he would like to see La Liga host three games a season abroad. (Reporting by Richard Martin Editing by David Holmes)