Kings League MENA entertainment-sport fusion

Image: SURJ Sports Investment

The SURJ Sports Investment (Saudi Arabia) and the Spanish seven-a-side football league – Kings League –recently announced a partnership to launch Kings League MENA, a regionally anchored version of the revolutionary seven-a-side football league founded by football legend and entrepreneur Gerard Piqué.

‘SURJ SPORTS INVESTMENT’ stated that the new joint venture will launch later this year and will bring an innovative and digital-first sporting experience to the MENA Region with Saudi Arabia confirmed as the league’s inaugural host.

The SURJ Sports Investments is a Public Investment Fund (PIF) company specializing in sports investments. It aims to enable the growth of the sports sector in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region. At the SURJ Sports Investment they believe in the transformative power of sports. As a PIF company they make strategic, long-term investments to drive the growth of the global sports industry, enhance fan experiences, nurture MENA talent, and foster innovation. Their mission is to create opportunities that align with Saudi Vision 2030, strengthening the Saudi sports ecosystem, increasing sports participation, and delivering both socio-economic impact and financial returns.

The Kings League is a Spanish seven-a-side football league established in 2022 by the former player Gerard Piqué (Spanish former footballer). The league features rules that differ from traditional football regulations such as a tie-breaker penalty shootout, unlimited substitutions and the implementation of secret weapons to add an element of dynamism and entertainment to the games.

Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)-based the Public Investment Fund (PIF) is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. It is among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with total estimated assets of US$925 billion. It was created in 1971 for the purpose of investing funds on behalf of the Government of Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Vision 2030 is a Government program launched by Saudi Arabia which aims to achieve the goal of increased diversification economically, socially and culturally in line with the vision of the Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. It was first announced on April 25^th, 2016 by the Saudi Government.

‘SURJ SPORTS INVESTMENT’ further stated that developed in partnership between the SURJ Sports Investment and the Kings League the MENA league – set to become the seventh league in the Kings League’s global portfolio – will feature a unique mix of regional football talent, digital-native content and stunning live events redefining how the fans experience the game.

Details on the team identities, the celebrity team owners and the competition’s format will be unveiled as the league builds toward its inaugural kickoff. The venture includes plans to engage the local talent through open tryouts, draft mechanisms and community activations helping to foster a new pipeline of football and content creation talent across the Arab world.

The above announcement is a major milestone in the evolution of sports entertainment across the region. With a format that fuses competitive football, gamified rules and the celebrity streamer team owners the Kings League MENA is designed to captivate young audiences and set a new benchmark for fan engagement in global sport. With 80 percent of the Kings League’s 30 million global social media followers under the age of 34 – and nearly 70 percent of Saudi Arabia’s population under 30 – the league is tailored to match the digital behaviors and entertainment preferences of the region’s youth.

Maintained Danny Townsend, head honcho, SURJ Sports Investment, “The Kings League MENA is unlike anything the region has seen. We’re bringing an entirely new model to market – one that celebrates football’s competitive spirit while embracing the energy of the digital creators, the fans and the youth culture. This venture reflects SURJ’s broader mandate to invest in sports intellectual property (IP) and the enablement platforms that deliver long-term returns, grow the ecosystem and connect with the next generation of fans across the region.”

Commented Djamel Agaoua, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Kings League, “We’re thrilled to take the Kings League into MENA through this exciting partnership with the SURJ. Saudi Arabia is the perfect launch pad for a league that’s bold, fan-first and digitally native. Together, we’re building a platform that fuses entertainment, sport and digital culture – one that’s tailor-made for this region’s energy and ambition.”

The Kings League has reimagined football for the digital era and for the next generation of fans. Since the explosive success of the original Spanish league in 2023 it has expanded to major football markets around the world adding leagues in Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, and Germany.

The iconic stadiums including the Spotify Camp Nou (90k spectators) in Barcelona (Spain) and the Juventus Stadium in Turin (Italy) (40k spectators) have sold out for the Kings League Finals. The growing global ecosystem of leagues is augmented by two spectacular annual international tournaments, the Kings World Cup Clubs (an international seven-a-side football tournament featuring teams from the various leagues from the Kings League plus wildcards from the other future international versions) and the Kings World Cup Nations (an international seven-a-side football tournament based on the Kings League format). The best teams of each Kings League qualify for the Kings World Cup Clubs. The best players of each country play for their national team in the Kings World Cup Nations.

The Kings League works with the world-leading streamers, content creators and football legends to drive engagement and will bring the same winning model to MENA. The LaLiga team FC Barcelona (Spain) superstars Lamine Yamal (Spanish footballer who plays as a winger for the FC Barcelona) and Jules Koundé (French footballer who plays as a center-back for the FC Barcelona), Brazil legends Ricardo Kaká (Brazilian former footballer) and Neymar Jr (Brazilian footballer), Argentina icon Kun Agüero (Argentine former footballer), the former Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger (German former footballer), and the LaLiga team Real Madrid CF players Aurélien Tchouaméni (French footballer) and Eduardo Camavinga are among the team and league Presidents in the Kings League ecosystem. The content creator superstars in the ecosystem include the American icon Jake Paul (American professional boxer and influencer), Saudi Arabia’s SHoNgxBoNg (a prominent Saudi Arabian content creator and streamer) and the Spanish streaming giant Ibai Llanos (Spanish Internet celebrity, streamer and esports commentator).

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