The Kings League is coming to the United States: Inside Gerard Pique’s plans for the league’s future

PARIS – The Kings League says they are coming to the United States, the only question is when. It has been an intense year for the organizers of the Kings League, the Zeven-A-Side format that is known for its unconventional rules that was founded in 2022 by the former FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique. Since then, the tournament, which started in Spain for the first time, has been internationally expanded and this is the direction of both Pique and Kings League’s CEO Djamel Agaa. After Spain they expanded to South America with the Americas Kings League, and in the first quarter of 2025 the Kings League was launched in four new countries: Italy, France, Germany and Brazil. In the meantime, they also organized two editions of the Kings World Club Cup, with the current edition ending on June 14 in Paris, a Kings World Cup countries that took place in Turin in January 2025 and the Queens League.

Now the mission is clear for both Pique and Agaoua. “The next big thing is launching the Kings League in the United States,” they unveiled sitting with CBS Sports.

The Kings World Cup clubs started on June 1 with the final on June 14, with all the promotion broadcast on CBS Sports Golazo Network and YouTube

What is the next step: the United States

The Kings League recently announced that they will also launch the format in the Mena region (Central -East and North Africa) and while the new competitions are performing above expectations, the eyes of both Pique and Agaoua are now looking in the same direction, the United States. The ideal route map is to launch the Kings League prior to the World Cup 2026. “It can happen at the beginning of 2026, or perhaps earlier, but the plan is clear. We are looking for the right partnerships, the right locations that the games can organize, but also strong makers who will possess the teams,” Pique said.

Neither the former defender nor Agaoua are concerned about the business side of the investment in the United States. “We raised around $ 60 million in 2024 to see the expansion in other countries. We usually spend around $ 5-6 million per country [when] We are launching the competition in a new country, but we expect that the investment in the US will be at least four times more. This is because all marketing activities are more expensive, but also because we have to hire the current work experience of our employees in Europe and connect with our new resources. It is as if you compare the US with Europe, not just one country. At the same time, the maturity of sports companies in the United States is at a different level. It will not be a problem. It will be harder to find the right people, so we are also planning to start with the east coast, it is closer to Barcelona, ​​where our head office is, “said Agaoua.

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PARDEEP CATRY

Choosing the right people is the key, but also decides which market should be submitted and that is an aspect of the work of Agaoua, which was appointed as the new CEO in October 2024. For example, the Kings League was launched in countries such as Italy, France, Spain and Brazil, but not in places like England. Agaoua explained why.

“It happened for various reasons, but we are open for the future. First of all, we need strong content makers to possess the clubs and stream the content daily. From the fan bases of the clubs involved.”

They take more time to take so much expected step in the United States, but this will happen. They need more time, because the market is larger than any other country where it is launched, and the approach will also be different from the other. The only question is when it will be announced and when it will start. With the upcoming Club World Cup from 14 June and the World Cup 2026 next year, the Kings League will also come to the United States.