Fast expanding Kings League eyes US launch by 2026

PARIS - The Gerard Pique-founded Kings League said on Saturday that it aims to launch its seven-a-side soccer format in the United States by 2026, adding to the list of nations where the online-orientated competition already has a footprint.

At a briefing in Paris, Kings League CEO Djamel Agaoua told reporters that a U.S. Kings League could be launched around the end of this year and start of the next.

We feel ready to attack the big animal, which is the U.S. market ... we start on the East Coast for operational reasons, said Agaoua, who was in the French capital for the Kings World Cup Clubs final at La Defense Arena on Saturday evening.

Various new buzzy soccer formats, with smaller teams and shorter games than traditional 90-minute football, have sprung up round Europe and elsewhere in recent years, attracting a host of online influencers and former professionals.

With special rules to heighten entertainment, the leagues are attracting major investment and large streaming audiences, even as some traditional fans deride them as a glitzy distortion of the worlds favourite sport.

Created by former Spanish international Pique in 2022, the Kings League has expanded fast to Italy, Germany, France and Brazil. It also plans to launch a MENA league for the Middle East and Africa later this year in partnership with Saudi Arabia Public Investment Funds sports arm.

The league estimates a 5-7 million euro ($5.8-$8.1 million) investment in each new market, though the U.S. venture would cost more, Agaoua said. The Kings League raised 60 million euros from investors in its latest funding round last year.

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However, it was staying away from China due to regulatory challenges and from the U.K. because streaming, including the Twitch platform, was less developed, the Kings League CEO said at the