🇪🇸 The Incredible Success of The Kings League. Founded by Gerard Piqué

No intro today because what Gerard Piqué is building is truly incredible.

Piqué retired in November 2022 at just 35-years-old and since his retirement he has set upon a journey building a comprehensive business empire.

He has an investment company called Kosmos Holdings which currently:

• Owns FC Andorra, a team in the 2nd Division of Spanish Football

• Holds investments in very innovative startups such as Sorare, once the fastest growing startup ever from France

• Owns a growing e-Sports team called KOI

But maybe the most impressive venture is The Kings League, the 7aside tournament which is currently taking over social media across the world.

Picture the following:

• 7-aside football

• Unlimited substitutions from either team

• Penalty shootouts from the half-way line!

The concept sounds completely wacky but this brand of football has become very popular, very quickly.

At the beginning of every single match the players lineup on the goal line and the ball is dropped from the centre of the pitch to start the match. There are unlimited substitutions and there are no draws.

If a match ends even the game is decided on a penalty shootout, but the penalties are no ordinary penalties. Penalties are taken from the halfway line where a player dribbles one and one with a goalkeeper!

There are 12 teams in the league and each team has 12 players in the squad.

The first 10 players are normal roster spots usually filled by very good 7 semi-professional 7-aside players. Player 11 is a guest player each team has for the entire league season, this is usually someone slightly above average in ability.

Player 12 is a guest player a team has for one game only!

This is where it gets fun. The success of the league has seen some very famous people be guest players:

• Ronaldinho has played

• Javier Saviola played

• Even Andrea Pirlo has played

The list is crazy! Rumours suggest that Neymar may play soon too.

The Kings League is played every Sunday in an arena in Barcelona. Each match is formed of two twenty minute halves and each week there are 6 matches that take place.

The best thing is that the matches are completely free to watch on YouTube. And this is where the business gets interesting.

The Ownership Structure

Each team is owned by someone very strategic. To give you an idea of how strategic, see below for the full list:

• Iker Casillas - Need any introduction?

• Sergio Agüero - I mean…

• Ibai Llanos - Maybe the most popular Spanish content creator alive today. 3rd most watched person on Twitch in the world. More on him later

• Juan Guarnizo - 25yo Spanish Streamer. Currently boasting 7m followers on Instagram

• David Cánovas (TheGrefg) - 18.2m. Subs on YouTube. Big numbers.

• Jaume Cremades (Perxitaa) - Spanish influencer. 2.5m subscribers on Youtube

• Mario Alonso (DjMaRiiO) - Built the YouTube to 9.2m. Instagram to 4.5m. Beast.

• Samy Rivera (Rivers) - Very popular Spanish Musician and YouTuber

• Martí Miràs (Spursito) - Another big Youtuber

• Javier (xBuyer) and Eric Ruiz (MiniBuyer) - Twitch extraordinaires

• Adri Contreras - Spanish sports commentator with 4.5m followers on TikTok

• Gerard Romero - Very famous Spanish Journalist turned Twitch sensation

Now you are beginning to see Pique’s vision. It’s these guys who are bringing the attention.

Piqué knows shortform, digital-first content is moving the needle with the youth and with sponsors. So the Kings League has tapped into both very well.

Each match is free to stream on YouTube and each owner streams and promotes all matches on their healthy social platforms.

It’s genius.

This image shows the most watched creators on Twitch in 2023. The Kings League, a brand new tournament which runs once-a-week for only 10 weeks is 5th!

Incidentally, Ibai Lłanos, a Kings League team owner is third!

This rabid audience allows the League to make money in two ways.

1. Ticket Sales

2. Sponsors

The final of the 1st cohort of the Kings League was held at the Camp Nou. It was a sold out affair with 93,000 people in attendance!

The final of the Summer cohort of the Kings League was held at the Wanda Metropolitano (home of Atlético Madrid). Again, sold out, 64k people in attendance.

I mentioned earlier each gameweek is played in an Arena in Barcelona. It’s sold out weeks in advance with people of all ages in attendance. Young. Old. Boys. Girls. Families in particular

This makes The Kings League a sponsors dream.

Piqué has already attracted sponsors such as INFOSYS, Adidas, Mahou, Mc delivery, Xiaomi, Shukran, Imagin, Iqoption, El Pozo King, Clinica Baviera, Curubito, Floki.com, Grefusa, Spotify.

Piqué has also said publically that The Kings League was profitable in Year 1.

It’s absolutely insane and it won’t slow down any time soon.

Where Next?

The Queens League has already started. Exactly the same, just with women.

Piqué has also announced that Kings League LatAm will take place in Mexico in 2024. He has also pencilled Kings League Italy and Kings League UK in 2025!

He then hopes to have a Champions League style format where each Kings League winner will play each other in a global tournament!

Crazy.

There are few things that may stop him on his quest however.

The Threats to the Vision

Firstly, the young nature of the fanbase. The Twitch generation is great but tastes change very quickly. Will the market be there forever?

Secondly the gimmicky nature of the sport may wear thin. Javier Tebas the Head of La Liga publically commented in a press conference saying that he “doesnt expect the Kings League to be around in 6 months!” He’s a hater for sure. But does he have a point?

Thirdly, and maybe most importantly, the emphasis of the content is largely placed on the teams’ owners and not so much the football itself. The media that is created stems from the owners. The marketing of the league is led by the owners. That world moves very quickly and it only takes one scandal or one public fallout from a young popular Twitch streamer to bring down the house of cards.

It’s an amazing piece of innovation created by Piqué so far. He has clearly targeted an audience and executed on it perfectly. The stands are packed with boys and girls every week and he has formed a sense of community in Spanish speaking nations very very quickly.

The 2024 cohort has already begun and the numbers are just as healthy as they ever have been so long may his success continue. The next phase of growth cites expansion into other markets so it remains to be seen if he can replicate in other countries.

I’ll be tuned in either way.

Until next week.