TURIN — When former FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique announced the creation of the Kings League in 2022, it was difficult to imagine what it could become two years later, when Brazil won the first edition of the Nations World Cup after beating Colombia in the final of the World Cup. Allianz Stadium in Turin.
Fans were treated to a completely different football experience at the stadium where Juventus play their home games on Sunday, fusing entertainment and football to create a unique event that was followed worldwide. Football legends such as Alessandro Del Piero, Iker Casillas, Gianluigi Buffon and Andrea Pirlo played together with social media creators and streamers for a different and much younger audience, but how can we explain the success of this new innovative football format?
It is very clear that the intention of Pique and the Kings League organization is that whoever is watching is the ultimate ‘king’. Everything that has been done, and will be done, goes towards those who watch the competitions and follows the content creators who are part of the competitions around the world. In short, it’s the exact opposite of how the football world works, where whoever watches is just the last part of the chain.
From Spain to Mexico and now Italy, the concept of the Kings League is quite simple, as the seven-a-side football tournament brings together that country’s most followed content creators with the most followed sport in the world. At the same time, this new visionary tournament has the freedom to change and adapt to the needs of the public, while the world of football is much more conservative, as the rules and regulations have been virtually the same since the invention of the game.
In the King’s League, which an estimated 40,000 fans attended the eventeverything has a unique approach. As a game, games are much shorter, lasting 40 minutes, divided into two halves, and the audience is also part of the rule-making process. There is a draft to select players for the teams and a transfer session, but there is no real money involved. There are also special cards during the matches that the teams can use in the second half, such as penalty kicks, removing players or temporarily changing the games into smaller teams. It is a way to change and discover what is not possible in normal football.
Former Juventus president and head of the ECA (European Club Association) said Andrea Agnelli in 2021, before a meeting of the same association, that “we must put the fans first, as the current system is not made for modern fans. Research shows that at least a third of fans follow at least two teams, while two-thirds are interested in major events; 40% of the 16 to 24 age group, Generation Z, have no interest in football today,” warned of a change in the rules before the disastrous announcement of the Super League, which led to his resignation from the ECA .
The final was played in Turin after Kings Italy was announced in November and showed an incredible level of organization and the involvement of Juventus legends such as Del Piero, Pirlo and Buffon, who made their comeback to their stadium. Surprisingly, the real stars of the evening were the streamers and content creators, who are part of the fans’ lives every day, even if you consider the average age in the stands.
It is difficult to predict what can happen in the coming months and years, but we should not underestimate the power and potential of this project, which directly aims to attract a very specific and young audience that is much less interested in the current situation. football world as we know it. It doesn’t mean that it will completely change or replace football, but it will certainly be a real alternative in the coming years. Certainly, it follows more the interests and needs of the audience and the final played in Turin is just a starting point of how big it can be.