Can you imagine that at Atlético-Barcelona this Sunday, Xavi could get a penalty awarded at any time?
And what about Florentino Pérez, president of Real Madrid, commenting on his team's matches on a YouTube or Twitch channel?
Would people want to see it?
Gerard Piqué asked himself that question a few months ago and came to the conclusion, together with his friend the streamer Ibai Llanos, that the fusion between football and the phenomenon of social networks is the next step in sport.
Months of work behind the scenes paid off last Sunday with the start of the King's League, a tournament that blends 7-a-side football with eSports (electronic sports) and which drew more than 15 million viewers at its premiere.
"We did not want to replicate a traditional soccer league, but to see how we could do it differently," Oriol Querol, general director of the King's League and Piqué's right-hand man at the company Kosmos, explains to EL PAÍS, which insists on a long-term vision. of the project.
“We took eSports as a model for various reasons: the calendar, divided into two
splits
, a closed League, the matchday model with all the matches one after the other... Our two objectives are to increase the quality of the League and enhance everything what goes beyond the ball, that is, the entire experience that surrounds the game”, explains the general director of the tournament, which is played entirely in Barcelona.
Former player, Raúl Tamudo fights for the ball in a King's League match. Manuel Queimadelos (Kosmos)
The format, with matches between January and July, consists of 12 teams chaired by some of the best-known streamers, such as Ibai Llanos or TheGrefg.
But there is also room for outsiders like Iker Casillas, who has recently opened a Twitch channel.
The presidents selected their players through a draft to which nearly 13,000 people from the ages of 18 to over 50 applied.
To the 10 chosen from each team, whose salaries are paid by Kosmos, two players signed by the presidents are added: stars like Ricardinho, Saviola, Capdevila and Tamudo.
The matches have two 20-minute parts, and are broadcast for free on the competition's Twitch channel and on the channels of the presidents.
Referees and coaches go with microphones to listen to everything that is said.
The game is pure dynamism from the kick-off, which is done water polo style.
Coaches can use a “special card” at any time that gives them an advantage, such as a penalty kick or the sending off of an opposing player for two minutes.
These advantages have been chosen through surveys on Twitter.
The ability to adapt to the demands of the public marks the competition.
“World football is a colossal ocean liner that to turn a single degree may require a decade to make a change.
We, if we want to change a rule, it can be changed in three minutes”,
WHAT MADNESS the end of this first part!
3 goals in less than three minutes.
What do you think of the use of the @LosTroncosFC_ letter?#KingsLeagueJ1 #InfoJobs pic.twitter.com/JHhfhh75tI
— Kings League InfoJobs (@KingsLeague) January 1, 2023
With the majority of anonymous players, the ability of these streamers to attract an audience is the mainstay of the competition.
One of the best known is the Madrid youtuber Mario Alonso Gallardo, known as DjMaRiiO, with more than eight million subscribers on YouTube.
"We are very surprised at the impact he has had and the high level of the League," he admits to EL PAÍS.
Regarding his functions as president, the communicator highlights his involvement both economically and in sports.
“I spend all day sending messages with the coach and talking to the players in case they need anything.
We also take care of covering certain expenses of the team that, when we get the first sponsors, everything will be easier ”, he explains.
GO CRAZY @DjMaRiiO 💥
What a great goal @UltMostoles 🦁#KingsLeagueJ1 #InfoJobs pic.twitter.com/xhb2hkuD2V
— Kings League InfoJobs (@KingsLeague) January 1, 2023
For the players, most of them with careers in futsal or youth soccer 11 categories, this is a unique opportunity to make themselves known.
Roger Bonet, coach of a Barcelona neighborhood team, plays for the Annihiladores, a club chaired by the Mexican streamer Juan Guarnizo.
"You can't make a living being a King's League player, but that's one of the keys to making it work so well, keeping it at an amateur level," says the 35-year-old.
“I think it is something that is very well set up and very focused on making it a very attractive product.
I come from futsal and we have never known how to sell it.
It's going to be a spectacular experience and no one is going to take that away from me”.
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