The evolution of the Kings League. Interview with O.Querol

The Kings League has established itself as a communication and sporting model within the Football Industry in recent years. At SFS24, Oriol Querol, CEO of Kings League Spain, took the stage and was interviewed by Paola Marinone on the Global Stage. Here’s what they discussed:

Welcome, Oriol. You’ve revolutionized the sports world, and you’re well aware of it. But what, concretely, is the KingsLeague?

First of all, thank you for the invitation. Two years ago, we launched the first Spanish league, and since then, a lot has happened.

The idea came to life while we were working on projects with streamers and creators. We wanted to gauge the engagement of this new type of sports product. We all love football, but two years ago, the situation was different. People thought football wasn’t appealing to younger generations: the matches were too long, and young people were losing interest. There was a gap between football and the Gen Z audience. We wanted to make a change in the way content is consumed and how the product is delivered. To do this, we leveraged creators who already had established communities in the streaming world. We reached out to 12 of the biggest creators from Spain and Latin America to launch the project. We also focused on improving the user experience, and we’re constantly evolving, even though we can’t compete with traditional channels. Our goal was to add value to the streamer profession, allowing them to decide what to talk about. The main objective is always engagement. With today’s fast-paced world, every two minutes, something new happens, and the rhythms are rapid. Today, we have the freedom to decide what to change and implement it.

I remember that the tickets for the final, scheduled three months in advance, were already sold out. That really impressed me, to be honest. Do you have any figures to share about that moment?

You’re right, the numbers are impressive. In each league, we have about 3 million viewers each matchday, and nearly 2 million watched the World Cup final in Mexico—the World Cup of Clubs. Initially, there was just the league in Spain, and in 3 months, we sold out. That’s when we realized we should organize more events. We’ve been to Camp Nou, Wanda Metropolitano, and we’ve done both indoor and outdoor events. Yesterday, we announced the final at Juventus Stadium, which will be the first final of the first edition of the World Cup of Nations.

What’s your take on the criticism of younger people and their low attention spans? How much do social networks actually play into this?

We are targeting generations who use TikTok and follow creators. Last year, we became the first sports property on TikTok, and the engagement rate was incredible. Many people are willing to watch up to 7 hours of livestreams. It’s not true that young people have a short attention span; the issue is that changes happen very quickly. For example, in the KingsLeague, at the 18-minute mark, we roll a dice and create a new player based on the number that comes up, in addition to the golden goal rule. All of this is designed to keep the audience engaged. Now, in Spain, we have KingsAmerica, which is based on the same concept from Mexico, and it’s performing very well in terms of numbers. For us, it’s crucial to have a streaming community to rely on. Italy will be an interesting market to invest in, as will England.

When people say young people love football, what demographic numbers do traditional media fail to capture?

In the case of the KingsLeague, the audience is predominantly male, and the streamers are men aged 25 and above. There are also kids who participate, so there’s a strong family involvement, which fosters human connection in a very friendly atmosphere. Initially, I was surprised myself because we didn’t expect it to work; we anticipated more engagement from the 18-24 age group. For me, the best thing that has happened in these two years is creating this ecosystem, where so many people work and believe in the project. It’s something alive, not just something to broadcast. It brings real-life challenges and controversies: from on-field disputes to complaints with referees.

You’ve also involved legends and players from other sports. How did this idea come about?

Initially, it really resonated with the younger audience. The KingsLeague works because it’s like being in a fantasy game. There are engaging daily activities; I’ve always wanted to manage and organize activities for my own favorite team. We didn’t want to mix with international football, but to enhance our brand by involving global football legends like Ronaldinho, Pirlo, Shevchenko, Totti, Casillas, and so on. It was a fun and interesting experience, with young people having the chance to play with real legends, but as though they were “ordinary” people.

When will we see a Kings League Italia?

We have great plans for Italy, as there are many talented players here. Just yesterday, we held an event with great former players. In Argentina, for example, they consider traditional football untouchable, so it wasn’t as easy as it has been in Italy. We’ve announced a league, introduced the teams, and Italy will host the World Cup of Nations in January 2025, at Juventus Stadium.

You announced the news yesterday, but what are your expectations in terms of participation?

I think we’ll receive excellent feedback in Italy, with great examples of experiences that have already worked well. Two years ago, I never would have believed it, but now I’m full of hype.

And what’s the next step?

As I mentioned earlier, Italy was announced in June, and the next leagues will be announced this week, one of which is a very big one. 2025 will be a key year in terms of expansion. Each country is different, with specific characteristics that need to be respected and analyzed.

In numbers, in Spain, you’ve gained half a million subscribers and the same in South America. What’s your goal?

Considering other sports, we still have few views. In traditional football, people are now just watching highlights or content that appears in TikTok reels. Content on the KingsLeague, in this sense, is growing exponentially. However, we have loyal communities in many different countries. Right now, we have 68 teams in our overall ecosystem.

Looking back, what are you most proud of?

In 2023, we started with Spain, then we created the Queen’s League and the Prince Cup for a younger audience. We had a new game in our hands, and we’re happy with what we’ve achieved so far. I’m proud of having created this ecosystem, especially after seeing how many people work with us. Our community is continually growing.

Thank you.

Thank you, and good luck with everything!