The date of the Copa del Rey final is up in the air, scheduled for next Saturday, 25 April 2026 at the La Cartuja stadium in Seville. The Spanish Federation, organizer of the event, is analyzing alternatives to this date. Essentially because that day is the Saturday Fair of the capital of Andalusia. An event that monopolizes a multitude of security and cleaning services in Seville. With hundreds of thousands of Sevillians and visitors enjoying the Fair, the presence of 70,000 extra fans that Saturday for the Cup final would cause an uncontrollable scene in Seville. Furthermore, that same weekend, the Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix takes place in Jerez de la Frontera, just 90 kilometers away. A super Saturday that would make Sevilla collapse.
The first to warn of the problematic situation was Antonio Muñoz, spokesperson for the Socialist Municipal Group of the Municipality of Seville. A few hours after Juanma Moreno, president of the Junta de Andalucía, and Rafael Louzán, president of the Spanish Federation, announced last Monday that the Cup final will be valid for another three years in Seville, starting from the first on 25 April 2026, Antonio Muñoz warned: “The Municipality of Seville must react. Playing the Cup final could be reckless and irresponsible in the face of the distortion of public services,” he clarified.
Last Wednesday, Francisco Toscano, the Government’s sub-delegate in Seville, also expressed his concern about the chosen date. “We don’t like the final date of the Cup. During the Fair there is a strong tension in essential services, especially in terms of security, mobility and transport. The coincidence with another event with a large influx, such as the final of the Cup on 25 April, significantly increases these needs”, clarified the security manager of the province of Seville. “It is important to reflect on the programming of these events,” admitted Toscano, who mentioned the possibility of a date shift.
The mayor of Seville, José Luis Sanz, initially agreed with the date, underlining the Andalusian capital’s ability to host two such important events, but yesterday he backtracked. “The problem is that at that moment there is a motorcycle Grand Prix in Jerez which requires many members of the National Police and the Civil Guard of Traffic. This is why we are negotiating with both the League and the Spanish Football Federation to see the dates,” he admitted.
At present, the Federation is looking, with the authorities and together with the League, for a new date for the Cup final. The scenario for this date change, however, is complicated. Just the week before the day originally scheduled for the final there is a cross-week championship day, with all weekends taken up by the championship competition until the end of May. The Champions League semi-finals will be played on 28 and 29 April, plus 5 and 6 May.
One possibility would be to move the championship day from 2 and 3 May to the weekend of 25 and 26 April, so the Cup final will be played on Saturday 2 May. Wednesday 12 May there is another midweek championship day. The Europa League final will take place on Wednesday 20th May, the Conference League final on the 27th. The Champions League final will be played on May 30th.
The final of the 2023 Cup, played by Madrid and Osasuna and won by the madridistas (2-1), was played on May 6th after it had initially been set for April 29th, where it coincided with Fiera Saturday, as also happens now. The change of dates, therefore, is necessary and imminent. Naturally, the collaboration of the League is needed.
