Boca and Racing are already in Abu Dhabi where they will face off for the International Super Cup to define who will be the first champion of 2023. Xeneize, champion of the 2022 Professional League tournament, and the Academy, winner of the Champions Trophy, landed at the international airport of the Arab city awaiting the match on Friday at 1.30 pm in our country.

The venue of the match will be the stadium Hazza Bin Zayed, located about 150 kilometers (an hour and a half by car) from Abu Dhabi. After the historic conquest of the Argentine national team at the World Cup in Qatar, Argentine football will resume with the dispute over a disputed trophy in the United Arab Emirates.

The referee will be World Cup player Fernando Rapallini, who will be assisted by Juan Pablo Belatti and Diego Bonfá. The referee team will be completed with Pablo Echavarría and Gabriel Chade fourth and fifth respectively, while Héctor Paletta will be in charge of VAR together with Fernando Espinoza and Pablo Dóvalo.

The two teams will arrive this Monday night in Abu Dhabi on a shared charter flight that took off from Ezeiza on Sunday afternoon and will start preparing for the game which will be played on Friday at 12:30 in Argentina.

Why will the International Super Cup be defined in Abu Dhabi?

This final is part of a trade and sporting agreement signed by the AFA and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC) in June last year.

The contract, which provides for the Argentine Super Cup for the next four years, entered into force in November last year with the preparation of the Argentine national team in view of the World Cup in Qatar and the friendly against the local team, led by the Argentine Rodolfo Vasco Arruabarrena.

The controversy behind the final

The first official title of 2023 for the soccer world champion involves a questionable decision as the Argentine Super Cup, the trophy which was reissued in 2012, is contested by the champions of the tournament and the Argentine Cup won by the Council of Paraná.

On December 29, the AFA confirmed in a statement that the protagonists of the final in the United Arab Emirates would be Boca Juniors, champions of the 2022 Professional League tournament, and Racing Club, winners of the Champions Trophy.

The parent company of Argentine football chaired by Claudio Tapia did not specify the move of the Definition Board, but Víctor Blanco, president of the Avellaneda team, indicated that it was a commercial decision.

Recent history

Next Friday’s final will also have the condiment of the last antecedent of the exciting definition of the Champions Trophy on November 6 in San Luis. On that occasion, Racing retained the title after the decisive goal from Carlos Alcaraz, recently transferred to the Premier League for 13,650,000 euros (plus an extra million in bonuses)in the 117th minute to bring the match to 2-1.

That goal by the former Academy player had a controversial celebration and sparked a brawl between the two teams which led to a fest of sending offs by referee Facundo Tello which left Boca with six players and no chance of continue the game.

Hence the second controversy around this International Super Cup since the AFA authorized the ten protagonists expelled from Tello at La Pedrera.

The value of the tickets

The Abu Dhabi Sports Council is promoting the match through official channels, but the final has not yet been reported by local media. However, the price of the tickets is already known, which will be divided into six different categories. Their values ​​will be $7, $28, $42, $56, $70, and $98, respectively.

“The country of silver is actually a ‘gold mine'”have published on the official account (@AbuDhabiSC) that they have also created several plates to remember the previous Super Cup champions such as Arsenal in 2012 and River from the last edition in 2019.

Outside of the controversy, the International Super Cup or Al Ain Super Cup will be the first title up for grabs for the Argentine soccer world champion and both Boca and Racing will do their best to add a new star.