The Spanish state broadcaster RTVE has said it would not bid to broadcast the upcoming Spanish Super Cup football tournament in Saudi Arabia due to human rights concerns.
Spain’s football federation (RFEF) announced a three-year deal to play the revamped event in Saudi Arabia, with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and Valencia due to contest the first edition in Jeddah in January 2020.
That has brought criticism from some in the sports world that the federation has prioritised money and ignored abuses in the conservative Muslim kingdom where women’s rights lag, while a severe critic of the regime, the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, was murdered in Istanbul last year after visiting the Saudi Arabian consulate there.
“RTVE will not join the bidding to buy the rights to broadcast the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia because this country violates human rights, especially women’s rights in the area of sport,” said Jesús Álvarez, RTVE’s head of sport. “It’s a country where until very recently women couldn’t go to watch football. Human rights are fundamental to this corporation, which has made a big push for women’s sport in the last few years.”
Neither the RFEF nor Saudi authorities could be immediately reached for comment.
Speaking at the announcement of Saudi Arabia as hosts for the tournament on Monday, the RFEF president Luis Rubiales said he could guarantee women would be able to attend without restrictions.
“Our idea is that football can be a tool of social change,” he said. “There will be people who are for and against this decision, but we are certain we have made the right move.”
The federation has not said how much the deal was worth, but insisted all income earned would be reinvested in amateur football and women’s football, aside from money granted to the four competing clubs. The Spanish newspaper ABC claimed the federation would earn between €35m-€40m per year from the deal.
