On January 1, the “Kings League” began, a 7-a-side football/soccer competition in which 12 teams compete and is broadcast through the Twitch digital platform. The league is led by Gerard Piqué, another footballer who retired from professional soccer last November.
The tournament is based on 7-a-side soccer but incorporates technology as in professional soccer using a VAR system and regulations created in the MLS, such as taking the penalty kick from midfield.
The commotion that this tournament has generated means that the 12 teams are led by people linked to social networks or digital platforms, since the owners of each club are the streamers Ibai Llanos (Porcinos FC), TheGrefg (Saiyans FC), Rivers (Pío FC), DjMaRiiO (Ultimate Móstoles), Juan Guarnizo (Aniquiladores FC), Spursito (Rayo de Barcelona), Perxitaa (Los Troncos FC) and the last team of digital creators is the Xbuyer Team, from the Buyer brothers.
8 teams are led by streamers that join the teams of former footballers Sergio Agüero (Kunisports) and Iker Casillas (1K). Finally, there is the team of the tik toker Adri Contreras (El Barrio) and of the journalist Gerard Romero (Jijantes).
Each team is made up of 12 players, of which 10 were chosen in a draft and two are wild cards selected by each club president. There, each owner can bring the two people they want. Former footballers such as Javier Saviola or Rubén de la Red have been selected for the moment, and it is expected that players of the stature of Andrés Iniesta or Juan Román Riquelme will arrive in the coming days.
Who finances this league, and how does it develop?
Although the league was organized and chaired by Gerard Piqué, the number of brands that have joined the project has made it possible to cover all the costs. All players receive the same salary for each game played.
The league will have 10 dates (two have been played already) and will be played every Sunday until March 12. Each game lasts 40 minutes, with two periods of 20 minutes each. The first eight classifieds will go to play-offs, where there will be direct elimination matches until the champion wins.
An innovative tournament and never seen before…
The Kings League, although it is based on soccer, has different rules than professional competitions. For example, no match can end up tied. The winner is defined by MLS-style penalty kicks, that is, penalties where the player starts from midfield and has to define before the goalkeeper in less than 5 seconds.
There is also a “surprise card”, which is an envelope that each coach takes out before the game and randomly chooses a benefit for his team that he can use once per game at any time he wants. Penalty in favor, expelling a player from the rival team temporarily or a wild card, are some of the options.
There is also no kick-off, instead, the players will have to run from their goal to see who wins the first possession, water polo style. And in the event that you get a yellow card, this sanction entails, apart from a warning, the obligation to leave the game for a few minutes.
How can I watch the Kings League?
The competition is broadcast every Sunday on the official Kings League Twitch channel, in addition to each owner broadcasting their team’s match on their own channel. On the second day, peak viewership was close to 1M.
The rules have been proposed and voted on by the fans and are constantly evolving, so there are aspects that will change throughout the season. Finally, both the referees and the coaches will be wearing microphones so that everyone can hear what is being said.
