The European football governing body is reportedly considering moving the 2023 Super Cup away from Kazan
Kazan could be deprived of the UEFA event. © Catherine Ivill / Getty Images
European football governing body UEFA is considering moving its 2023 Super Cup match from the Russian city of Kazan to an alternative venue, according to reports.
Kazan’s Ak Bars Arena hosted six matches in the well-received 2018 World Cup and was awarded the privilege of becoming the first Russian stadium to stage the UEFA fixture that sees the winners of the Champions League and Europa League face off at the beginning of the season before national championships get underway.
While no changes have been made to the schedule as things stand, ESPN reports that UEFA is considering alternative venues, having already moved this year’s Champions League final from St. Petersburg to Paris.
That decision was one of UEFA’s first sanctions against Russia as a response to the country’s military operation in Ukraine.
UEFA and FIFA have also launched joint bans of all Russian teams and clubs from international competitions.
That move saw Russia’s women’s team prevented from competing at Euro 2022 this summer, while the men’s national team were ejected from Qatar 2022 World Cup qualification playoffs.
Earlier this month, UEFA released a fresh set of sanctions that saw all Russian national teams and clubs banned from its competitions for the 2022-23 season, including the Nations League, Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.
The Russian Football Union (RFU) is appealing the UEFA and FIFA bans at the Court of Arbitration (CAS) for Sport in Switzerland, but is yet to learn the final outcome of its appeal.
In late April, Russian Sports Minister Vladimir Leonov insisted that the Super Cup was still “on the calendar” in Kazan and that there hadn’t been either formal or informal moves by UEFA to move the match away from Russia.
“There were no official or unofficial statements in this regard. We continue to prepare for it. We do not see anything so complicated from the point of view of organization,” Leonov told Match TV at the time.
UEFA Super Cup ‘still on the calendar’ for Russian city – sports minister
While a decision is reportedly being readied on the 2023 Super Cup, the 2022 edition of the match will go ahead in Finnish capital Helsinki on August 10, where Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt will meet whoever clinches the Champions League final played between Real Madrid and Liverpool.
