Gerard Piqué, the FC Barcelona legend, has made waves with his innovative approach to soccer. Instead of following the traditional path of buying a team, Piqué created an entirely new model for the sport. His brainchild, the Kings League, is a seven-a-side football competition that combines athleticism with gaming, and it’s capturing the attention of fans worldwide as he has raised $65 million already from his league.
The Kings League was established in 2022 by Gerard Piqué, the former Barcelona and Spain defender, and the famous Spanish internet celebrity Ibai Llanos. Piqué and his team wanted to step away from traditional football and create a faster-paced game that could attract a new, younger audience.
The league features twelve teams competing in seven-a-side matches. Each team plays eleven matches before heading into the playoffs for the title. The matches are live-streamed on Twitch, making it accessible to fans worldwide.
Each team has a squad of twelve players. The first ten players were selected through a draft streamed on Twitch at the end of 2022. Teams can add two additional players, usually ex-professionals or current players. The 11th player remains the same throughout the season, while the 12th player can change weekly.
FC Barcelona legend Gerard Pique has raised $65 million for his new soccer league, the Kings League, and everyone should be paying attention to this.
Rather than try to buy his own team, Pique developed an entirely new model.
Pique and his business partners bought an abandoned… pic.twitter.com/zIp9qguPUF
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) May 28, 2024
Unique Rules of The Kings League
The Kings League introduces exciting rule variations:
Before each match, both teams secretly select one of five golden cards:
Instant penalty
Removal of an opposition player for two minutes
Any goal scored in the next minute counts as double
Stealing the opposition’s card
Joker card (allows the team to choose any of the above bonuses)
Kick-off involves both teams running from their respective goal lines to the center spot to take possession of the ball. Yellow or red card recipients are sent to the sin bin for a specified time.
Instead of a single entity structure, the King’s League strategically partnered with popular streamers.
Streamers with millions of followers on platforms like Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram helped the league grow to over 13 million followers on digital platforms.Matches are streamed for free on these channels, eliminating the need for cable TV or pay-per-view packages.
INSANE, SIMPLY INSANE GOAL 🥵@teamlimonfc #KingsWorldCup pic.twitter.com/UIPPaHkKj7
— Kings League World (@_KingsWorld) May 28, 2024
The Kings League’s first-ever match drew 800,000 viewers on Twitch and YouTube.In January 2023, the league amassed 238 million views on TikTok and Twitch, surpassing all other traditional European football leagues combined.
The championship match at Barcelona’s Camp Nou saw 92,000 spectators attending, paying between $10 to $65 per ticket.
The Kings League’s expansion is based on language, not location. Piqué plans to partner with English, French, Arabic, Portuguese, Russian, and Japanese streamers. Each language will have its own league, leveraging the audience of the most popular streamers.
Streamers receive equity in the teams, aligning their interests with the league’s success. The global appeal of soccer ensures virtually unlimited demand.
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