The Kings League launched by Gerrard Pique is already making a lot of buzz on the internet. The former Barcelona and Spanish defender has wasted no time after his retirement in November.
And went on launch his own league named Kings League, which is making waves on the internet, catching everyone’s attention for the big names like Casillas and Aguero involved with it.
What is Gerard Pique’s Kings League?
If you have played futsal in EA Sport’s FIFA game, then you are already aware of the three-a-side game played in contrast to traditional rules on a smaller turf with no breakage.
Well, the Kings League is a bigger and better version of the same game. Instead of 3 players, this tournament features seven a side team. 12 such teams in the Kings League are fighting for the title in this inaugural season.
The league features no general rules of traditional football other than the fact that you are supposed to score the goal by netting the ball. Other than that, Kings League is a separate league of rules.
However, above that, the involvement of several big names has made Pique’s league a huge success. Therefore, it becomes mandatory to look at the footballing superstars involved in Pique’s Kings League.
Who are the stars that are allegedly involved in Pique’s Kings league?
Gerard Pique initially launched the Kings League. But he is not the sole superstar behind this league. And considering the round it has made on the internet, it only makes sense that more people must be involved in this league.
And a little investigation on our part and a lot of social media coverage has shown that many big players are involved in the Kings League.
The biggest names besides Pique in this league are Iker Casillas, Sergio Aguero, Javier Chicarito Hernandes, Isco, and Dennis Suarez.
The former Real Madrid captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas is the alleged president of the league or one of the 12 teams present in the tournament. Furthermore, he is joined by his former teammate Isco and Man City legend Sergio Aguero.
In one of the rounds, former Manchester United player Chicarito (an active player) was also spotted playing in the King’s League.
Overall, Pique is looking to make his league an all-star league to reach the heights of professional football. And it appears that he is on the right track.
With that being said, let’s see what new rules of Kings League make it all the more popular among people, and youth in particular.
What are the rules of Gerard Pique’s Kings League?
The Kings League features a variety of rules that differ from the traditional form of football that you and I are accustomed to. Hence, it makes the tournament all the more lucrative and enjoyable.
Kickoff
For starters, the game doesn’t have a traditional kickoff. Rather, the ball is placed in the center of the artificial turn on which the game is played, and both teams rush toward it. This gives the kickoff a water polo-type start.
Unlimited Substitutes
Another rule away from the traditional form is the use of unlimited substitution and rotation of players. Although every team has just 7 players on the pitch, they are allowed to name 12 on the squad, and the players can be rotated, subbed in and out at any juncture of the game.
Yellow and Red cards sans sending off
The Cards also don’t hold the same value as they do in a standard football game. While the Yellow card is a warning card in our day-to-day game of football, it is much more than that in Kings League, as it can send you off for a cooling period of 2 minutes.
Red Card is also dealt with in the same manner and ensures that the player has to sit out for five minutes before subbing out of the game for good.
New-age Penalty kicks
Even there is a twist in the tale when it comes to penalties. Unlike penalties taken as spot kicks in traditional football , Kings League also has a different rule for them.
Instead of being taken as a spot kick, a player must run from the halfway line and beat the keeper from open play to score. This reminds people of the MLS version of penalties that became very famous in the 1990s in America.
Weapon Cards
Apart from all this, there is another level of videogame-type gimmick present in the game. Each team is handed a golden card at the kickoff, and this card has different weapons that a team can choose to use at any time of the game.
This so-called weapon allows a team to take an instant penalty, remove a player from the opposition’s team for two minutes, double goal, or even rob a card from their opponent.
Furthermore, a joker card allows the team to choose any of the super weapons.
VAR
VAR is also not spared from this league. Pique has thought everything through, and in the Kings League, both teams are allowed to use VAR once to overturn the referee’s decision. However, if they cannot overturn the decision, they lose the VAR and can’t use it again.
Future matches of Kings League at Camp Nou
So far, the Kings League has been a great hit. And Pique had decided to take it a notch further by playing the final four stage of the game in a stadium like Barcelona’s Camp Nou.
Yes, you heard it right, the Kings League, which is currently being played in an indoor stadium near the industrial area of Barcelona, is all set to go live in front of 90k people of Barcelona.
According to the Official website of FC Barcelona:
“Spotify Camp Nou will be hosting the Final Four of Kings League Infojobs on March 26, a competition featuring 12 of the most famous Spanish speaking streamers at the helm of the competing teams.”
This is definitely a significant change in the history of the sport. And it will be interesting to see how people respond to this 7-a-side game being played in the home ground of FC Barcelona.
Pique is all set to disrupter the footballing world by introducing his 7-a-side league to the whole footballing world. The Kings League of Gerard Pique can indeed be a game-changer of how people perceive football.
