There have been a number of ventures into smaller-team versions of sports over the past while, from three-on-three basketball and hockey through seven-on-seven versions of football and soccer. The Kings League, founded by former Manchester United and Barcelona star Gerard Pique, is about the latter. And it just got a 60 million Euro (around $65 million U.S.) investment led by firms Left Lane Capital and Fillip, and has big international expansion plans ahead.

The league started in Spain in 2023, and grew quickly, even selling out Barcelona's Camp Nou and Athletico Madrid's Metropolitano during its first year. This year, they launched Mexico-based Kings League Latam. And they're conducting a two-week Kings World Cup 2024 in Mexico beginning May 26, with 32 teams from around the world.

The Kings League Final Four at Barcelona's Camp Nou on March 26, 2023. (Photo by Manuel Queimadelos/Quality Sport Images/Kings League) The overall approach is for regional leagues with 12 teams each, each led by team presidents including famed soccer stars and prominent streamers. For the Kings World Cup, Zlatan Ibrahimovic will lead the event. Neymar, Francesco Totti, Rio Ferdinand, Eden Hazard, and Mario Gotze are amongst the other stars involved. The current broadcasting setup has presidents responsible for live streaming their teams' matches on their own channels on platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok.

Unlike most European soccer models, these are closed leagues with end-of-season playoffs. And 10 of each team's 13 players are selected through a draft, with the remaining three slots left open for guest players (often including those big names).

The league also features unusual rules. Those include starting with one-on-one clashes and adding a player to each team every minute of the 40 in the match to counting last-two-minutes goals double to finishing tied matches with a one-on-one "shoutout" to both teams drawing a "secret card" at the start of the match that can be used in the second half. Here's a video showing some of that, and featuring an interview with prominent player-president Sergio Aguero:

Here's more on the league from a release:

Kings League Founder Gerard Pique, who won the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championships, and four UEFA Champions League titles during an illustrious playing career for Barcelona, Manchester United, and the Spanish national team commented, "When we launched Kings League a year ago, we had the ambition to transform sports and entertainment at a global scale. This investment not only validates the impact and potential of our vision, but also allows us to take it to the next level. We are creating a unique and differentiated ecosystem, evolving the future of sport and entertainment into a new dimension that millions of young people around the world want to be a part of. We are still a young company but have high goals to reach a global audience by creating one of the most entertaining IPs in the world."

The league currently has more than 13 million followers on its digital platforms, more than 80 million hours of content watched, and over 82 million views on TikTok. Its official Twitch channel is the second most watched Spanish-language channel in the world, and on TikTok, it is the most watched football league globally with larger audiences than La Liga or the Premier League.

"Kings League has created the stage for the world's best seven-a-side football players to compete, while combining this with gamified rules and creator culture to keep fans entertained for every moment of the match. Gerard and his team are building a one-of-one global sports entertainment ecosystem that gives the game back to the fans while empowering the world's leading creators to build unique sports franchises in their own identity," said Harley Miller, CEO and Managing Partner of Left Lane Capital.

"This partnership aligns perfectly with our commitment to storytelling and we are thrilled to contribute to Kings League's continued growth and enduring success. The competition has transformed the way sports are produced, distributed, and consumed globally by placing fans at the center of the action. Innovative features like tie-breaker penalty shootouts, unlimited substitutions, and secret weapons continuously fuel excitement," said Alberto Fasja and Hector Sepulveda, co-CEOs of Fillip.

To date, Kings League has been operating in Spanish with those Spain- and Mexico-based leagues. Here are some further highlights from a recent match, via their official YouTube channel:

The new funding here will help boost the league's bold expansion plans. As per that release, they're targeting launches across major European countries, North America, and Brazil for the next two years, then Asia in 2026. And they're eyeing both a U.S. launch and English-language broadcasting for 2025. They'll be worth keeping an eye on, especially after this latest round of investment.