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Doha will be hosting the event for a second time in three years
Agencies
Milan
The Italian SuperCup final between league champions Juventus and beaten Cup finalists AC Milan will be held in Qatar for the second time this December, Serie A officials announced on Friday.
Napoli beat Juventus on penalties at Doha's Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in 2014 and an agreement has been signed between both parties that will see the SuperCup played on foreign soil for the ninth time.
Serie A president Maurizio Beretta said:"We're proud that (2022 World Cup hosts) Qatar has shown such an interest in hosting the SuperCup.
"Qatar has shown it has the capacity, passion and hospitality to host one of the top games in Italian football in the best way possible."
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalida al Thani, president of the Qatar Football Association, said:"We're delighted to host Juventus and Milan, two of the most famous Italian football clubs, and to see them challenge for the SuperCup in front of thousands of fans who will come from all over the world."
The SuperCup is traditionally contested by the league champions and Cup winners.
But since Juventus beat Milan in the 2016 Cup final to secure a second successive league and Cup double, the Rossoneri get the chance to make amends.
In December 2015, Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala struck as Juventus beat Lazio 2-0 in front of 30,000 fans at Shanghai Stadium to win their 10th SuperCup trophy.
The Italian Super Cup final represents the first opportunity of lifting silverware during the 2016/17 football season.
Serie A President Beretta added:"We are proud to bring one of Italy's most important football match to Doha for the second time in three years."
The trophy is normally fought for between the winner of the Serie A championship and that of the Coppa Italia.
With Juventus winning both the 2015-16 Serie A championship and the 2015-16 Coppa Italia, the game will be played between Juventus and the 2015-16 Coppa Italia runners-up Milan.
This will be the ninth time that the Super Cup has been contested outside of Italy with previous matches held in Washington (1993), Tripoli (2002), New York (2003), Beijing (2009, 2011 and 2012), Doha (2014) and Shanghai (2015).
This is the second time the capital of the state of Qatar has been selected for this trophy, as it was played for between Napoli and Juventus in 2014, when the former team won on penalties.
The Qatar Football Association website said,"Italian Serie A TIM and the Qatar Football Association FA are thrilled to announce that the 2016 Supercoppa TIM to be played between Italian giants Juventus and AC Milan will take place in Qatar's capital on December 23rd.
"The strong relationship between the Italian and Qatari football governing bodies and the highly successful organisation in Doha of the 2014 Supercoppa TIM between Juventus and Napoli have been key factors for the return of the event to Qatar.
AC Milan and Juventus, two of the world's most storied clubs were in favour of Doha as the hosting city ahead several proposals received from around the world. Both clubs have been impressed by previous matches in which they have participated in Qatar and were keen on returning for yet another official competition."
