Udine to host the European Super Cup, a surprising but coherent choice

The poster is spread out in majesty on the website of the municipality of Udine . Wednesday, August 13, at 9 p.m., the Friuli stadium hosts the European Super Cup football match between the winner of the Champions League – Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) – and the winner of the Europa League – Tottenham . It's the occasion for two days of celebration for this city of 100,000 inhabitants located in the northeast of Italy.

"Sporting events of such international importance usually take place in large cities or European capitals," recalled the mayor, Alberto Felice De Toni, in December 2024, when the match was officially announced in his town. The mayor sees this as an "exceptional success" and a "source of pride."

At first glance, the choice of the capital of Friuli may surprise observers. Some would argue that it was made by default – it was the only candidate city to submit a complete application within the allotted time. Wedged between the Alps, the Adriatic Sea, and the Slovenian border, Udine is not the most accessible. It is difficult to reach by train or plane, from abroad, without a stopover. Nor can it claim to be a benchmark in Italian football. Its club, Udinese Calcio, has never won the championship, in the first or second division, nor lifted the national cup, let alone shone on the continental stage…

Yet, the fact that Udine is the venue for the first major European fixture of the season is far from being a coincidence or an incongruity. Since 2013, the European Super Cup has abandoned Monaco's Stade Louis II, its historic home, to venture, in accordance with the wishes of UEFA – the body governing football on the Old Continent – outside the traditional bastions of the round ball. This is a way of distinguishing itself from the Champions League and Europa League fixtures. For example, the match was hosted in Cardiff (Wales) in 2014, Trondheim (Norway) in 2016, and Tallinn (Estonia) in 2018.

This decision also ensures, due to the smaller size of the stadiums, that the stands will be almost full, even though the match is being held in the middle of August, a period that is not conducive to crowds. In fact, on Wednesday, the nearly 23,000 seats at the Friuli stadium in Udine should be sold out. "Supporters of both teams have already been able to access the tickets reserved for them through their respective clubs, with 5,800 purchased for PSG and 4,700 for Tottenham," reported the Udinese website on July 29 .

The holding of this match in the capital of Friuli comes at a particularly special time for Italy, which is preparing to co-host Euro 2032 with Turkey. In recent months, UEFA has repeatedly expressed its concern about the dilapidated state of many of its sports venues, which are considered to be lagging behind international standards in terms of comfort and safety.

The country must provide the body with a list of five stadiums that could host the tournament matches before October. However, a UEFA official told Reuters that in its initial bid, only Juventus's stadium in Turin was suitable for the competition. The possibility of partially withdrawing the hosting rights from the Italian federation if the promised renovations were not completed on time has been discussed.

The fact that the European Super Cup match is being held in the modest Friuli – renamed BlueEnergy by a naming contract –, completely renovated in 2015 with recycled materials and among the most ecological in the world, serves as a positive showcase; and gives Italy the opportunity to prove its ability to host a major event in good conditions. Before changing scale, in seven years.