What is Gerard Pique's Kings League? Format, rules, teams, schedule, TV channels and streaming

Former Spain and Barcelona soccer star Gerard Piqué wouldn’t have thought his idea would spread like wildfire around the world. All he wanted to do was create a new soccer format that caters to younger audiences who look for content to consume every second and have a much shorter attention span. Thus, the Kings League was born in 2023 in Spain, and it was the most radical approach ever taken in soccer.

Kings League is pretty simple to explain, but it has a lot of layers embedded. It is a seven-a-side soccer tournament that brings the most sought-after content creators onto the pitch. Kings League is all about skill, flair and glamour. The players showboat on the pitch with their skills. The teams are owned by famous footballers and popular streamers. Sergio Aguero, James Rodriguez, Neymar Jr, and Chicharito all own teams, and Spain's starlet Lamine Yamal is about to own one.

It breaks the norms of soccer and adds a lot of creativity to the game that has not undergone evolution since it arrived in its modern form. It has unlimited substitutions, sin bins, and unique penalty shootouts after every draw, all adding flavour and drama to every game.

Kings League started in Spain, but its initial success gave confidence to the organisers. They rapidly expanded it to Hispanic America, Italy, Brazil, France, Germany, the Middle East and North Africa. The league also has an affiliate, the Queens League for Women.

As the sensational league is about to expand into the United States as Kings League USA, GOAL will take you through the basics of the league. We have everything like the format, rules, teams, schedules and streaming covered for you.

What is the Format of the Kings League?

Kings League follows an Apertura and Clausura-style format where each season is divided into two splits: the Winter Split and the Summer Split. Each split has its own league stage and playoffs. During the league stage, each team plays the other team once in a round-robin format. The league used a breakaway table system that used wins and goal difference as a metric. However, they reverted to a conventional point system with a twist.

Each win in regular time gives 3 points. A win from a penalty shoot-out gives two points. There’s even 1 point awarded for a loss from a penalty shoot-out. A loss during regular time gives 0 points. This point system was adopted from Split 2 of the Kings League Spain in 2023 and became the norm for all the Kings League around the world, along with the Queens League. Some leagues even have 8 teams, and the qualification positions might differ.

In a 12-team league, once the table is set after all the matchdays, the team that finishes on top of the table advances to the semi-final directly. The teams finishing from 2nd to 4th advance to the playoff second round. 5th to 10th qualify for the playoff first round.

The playoffs take place in a conventional knockout format. The teams play each other until there is only one team left standing as the champion of the split.

As the league expanded into different countries, a Kings World Cup Club was planned to bring together the best teams from around the world. It invites the winners of each split, along with the best-placed teams in the league. The Kings World Cup Club also includes Wildcard teams from future expansion points of the league.

Coming to the squad and team format, each team is allowed a set 12-player roster that remains the same throughout the split. A draft and trade system was used for the first editions of the Kings and Queens League around the world. Players were allowed to apply and were selected through a draft process after skill assessment.

The draft involved selecting ten players with two additional roster slots reserved for guest players. Known as the 11th and 12th players, they are often well-known footballers or streamers. The 11th player has to stay throughout the season with the team, and the 12th player can change on each match day. The trading system used a virtual economy, meaning no real cash was involved.

After the initial trades were locked, new trades were organised before each split, keeping the rosters in mind. A transfer system was also introduced between the splits. Transfers were decided in a one-week transfer window through the means of buy-out clauses and bids.

What are the rules of the Kings League?

A game of the Kings League has 7 players on the pitch. It is played on a recommended size of 55m x 35m pitch. The goalposts are slightly smaller. The games are split into two halves of 20 minutes each. There are two breaks in the game. One during the halftime and one before the 39th minute.

There are no draws in the Kings League as the game goes to a penalty shoot-out if the scoreline remains deadlocked. Each matchday takes place on a single day, with games taking place back to back in the same venue.

The best part about the rules in the Kings League is that you get to choose them. The rules were created through a social media voting process as fans voted and got their wishes. They chose unique penalty shootouts, sin bins, unlimited substitutions, secret weapons, president penalties and more. Let us take a look at them.

Penalty Shootout – The player starts from midfield and has a one-on-one breakaway with the opposing goalkeeper. The player must get their show away within five seconds. If the keeper saves initially or the ball hits the post after striking the keeper, it becomes a dead ball.

Sin bins – Yellow cards result in a 2-minute exclusion from the pitch. A red card results in a one-minute exclusion until a substitute can enter.

Double Goals – Starting from the 39th minute, each goal would count as two when scored before the full-time whistle. In the Kings Cup, the game switches to a golden goal if the game remains tied after the 38th minute. In any other scenario other than a tie, the double-goal rule still applies.

The league also included special secret weapons known as Secret Cards, which have a host of uses. These cards can be used by each team once per game from halftime up until the end. Here are the most popular Secret Cards:

President Penalty – Each team can use this card any time after the 6th minute up until the end. It gives a chance for the Chairman or the president of the team to take a penalty kick for their side. If the president is unavailable during the game, it can be taken in the form of a penalty shootout by one of the players. A President Penalty can be used by both teams irrespective of the other cards. If the teams fail to use the card before the end of the game, it automatically becomes active in the break before the 38th minute.

Double Goal – The team playing this card doubles their goals scored for the next 4 minutes, excluding President Penalty.

Suspension – The team playing this card can remove an opposing player from the field for 4 minutes.

Star Player - Similar to a captain’s armband, a team can designate a player as their star player, signified by an armband. All goals from the player until the 39th minute count double.

Joker – The team can activate any one of the other cards, or alternatively, cancel or steal the opposing team’s card.

Dice – A giant dice is rolled onto the pitch at the 18-minute mark. Any outcome from the dice applies to the final two minutes of the first half. The dice can turn the match into a three-a-side, two-a-side, and one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Each of the three outcomes gets two faces on a dice.

These rules aim to provide new opportunities and increase the pace of the games. It also leads to incredibly high scorelines, unlike the usual low-scoring games of soccer. These doubled the excitement and kept the audiences hooked to the screens.

What are the teams of the Kings League?

Kings League Spain

Kings League Americas

Kings League Italy

Kings League Brazil

Kings League France

Kings League Germany

Kings League MENA

Kings League USA

Kings League Wildcard Teams

What is the schedule of the Kings League?

Currently, the 5th Split has concluded in Spain. The 25/26 season is set to begin soon. New leagues are expected to start in the USA and MENA regions later this year. The schedule will be updated here.

Where can I watch the Kings League?

The Kings League is available to watch for free through live streaming on the league’s official Twitch, YouTube and TikTok channels. It is also broadcast live on the individual channels of the team chairpersons. The league reached a peak viewership of more than 1.3 million people during a round three match in its inaugural season.

This turned the eyes of the major sponsors and broadcasters in the world to flock to the league. Knowing it would become the talk of the town soon, they rushed to secure its contracts. Adidas, Air Asia, McDonald’s, Red Bull, Iren and Floki, who shared a similar ideology with the league to expand into the new generation, saw it as a perfect partner.

The inaugural Kings World Cup of Nations found an audience around the world. It was available in more than 60 countries worldwide thanks to famous broadcasters. Here’s a list of the broadcasting partners of the tournament:

Watch CBS Golazo on Fubo

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