What is the King’s World Cup?
You will no doubt be aware that Euro 2024 will light up the summer months, but did you know this is also a World Cup year? The eleven-a-side outfits may have to wait until 2026 to strut their stuff on the global stage in North America, but the wait is almost over for the seven-a-side stars of the Kings League.
What is the Kings League?
UK fans may have little experience of this innovative footballing concept introduced in Spain by Gerard Pique in 2023. However, a few years from now, we suspect everyone will know all about this all-action creation. Simply put, the Kings League is the fastest-growing football league in the world – already pulling in more viewers than some La Liga fixtures in its homeland and not far off being the most-watched competition in the world, with over 80m hours of streamed footage on social media.
Graced by legends of the game, such as Ronaldinho, Sergio Aguero, and Andriy Shevchenko, and propelled by a selection of the most popular social media stars on the planet, you may not have heard of the Kings League yet, but chances are you soon will.
For the uninitiated, Kings League fixtures consist of two 20-minute halves and present a spectacle a few steps removed from your standard 90-minute contest. Expect masked players, ice-hockey style shootouts as players converge on goal from the halfway line, pitches painted black and secret weapon cards such as goals counting double for a four-minute period and the banishment of opposing players to the sidelines, and no draws, definitely no draws. That shortlist only scratches the surface of this Generation Z success story - our Kings League Guide explains more.
What is the Kings World Cup?
Having already expanded into the Americas, with plans to move into France, Italy, England, Germany and beyond, 2024 sees the next step in the evolution of this intriguing format with the inaugural edition of the Kings League World Cup. 32 sides head to Mexico, consisting of 10 Teams from the Kings League, 10 from the Americas Kings League, and 12 from future international versions of the Kings League.
When Does the Tournament Take Place?
The tournament kicks off on Sunday 26th of May, with the final set to take place at the spectacular Estadio BBVA home of C.F. Monterrey on Saturday 8th of June – an inspired spot of scheduling by the organisers, falling between the end of the major European domestic leagues and the start of Euro 2024 on Friday 14th June.
Which Teams Are Playing?
Each Kings League team has a former footballing star or a social media titan as its president and consists of a squad of 10 players, plus additional guest players. You are unlikely to have heard of too many members of the core 10-man squads – predominantly harvested from lower-level local leagues – but you will certainly recognise some of the names amongst the club presidents and guest players.
Final playoffs will determine the last two teams to make the tournament, but the 30 confirmed sides, together with their president and standout guest players, are as follows. Check out some of the names amongst the International sides!
Kings League Sides
Americas Kings League Sides
International Sides
What is the Tournament Format?
The Kings League World Cup will follow what is known as the Swiss Format of knockout competition, which runs as follows:
- All 32 teams play a single match following a random draw
- All 32 teams progress to the second round, with the winning teams making up a Winners Bracket and the losers making up a Losers Bracket
- The 16 sides from the Winner's Bracket are randomly drawn against one another. The eight winners from these games automatically qualify for the knockout phase
- The 16 sides from the Loser's Bracket are randomly drawn against one another. The eight losers from these games are eliminated from the competition
- Next, the eight losing sides from the Winners Bracket are drawn against the eight winning sides from the Losers Bracket. The eight winners of these games join the eight winners from the Winners Bracker to make up a final 16
- The tournament then follows the familiar Last 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Final format
Can I Bet on the Kings League World Cup?
With star names such as Iker Casillas, Francesco Totti, Neymar, Andriy Shevchenko, Sergio Aguero, Eden Hazard, Samir Nasri, and Rio Ferdinand involved and an expected global audience in the millions, you can bet that the bookmakers have noticed the Kings League World Cup. Whilst not yet as widespread as the odds for the major betting leagues, that seems sure to change, with 10Bet and Betway among the firms already on the Kings League bandwagon.
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