Kings World Cup 2024 — dates, teams, streams and more

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After the recent news that the Kings World Cup will be held in Mexico from May 26 to June 8, there's more news to excite fans of this hybrid football universe that started with the Kings League before adding the Queens League, Prince Cup, Kingdom Cup, and Kings League Americas to the portfolio. This upcoming global tournament has roped in none other than former Sweden star Zlatan Ibrahimovic as its President, or, in the words of the star himself, King of Kings.

For those unaware, the Kings League brings together former professional footballers and popular streamers to compete in a league competition. It has gained significant attention due to its unique format and the involvement of well-known personalities from the gaming and sports worlds.

Welcome to Zlatan's World Cup.#KingsWorldCup pic.twitter.com/YfGL86VteO

— Kings League World (@_KingsWorld) March 11, 2024

Moreover, it's streamed live on streaming services like Twitch and TikTok, attracting a large audience and generating excitement among fans. Three of the five most-watched broadcasts of sporting events of all time on the purple platform have come from this set of events, including the first-ever split of the women's edition in the fifth spot.

What is the Kings World Cup 2024?

This global tournament will bring together 36 teams — ten from the Kings League in Spain, ten from the Americas Kings League, twelve guests (wildcards) from different countries, and four from the Redemption Game — to battle it out for a trophy and a million dollars. The teams from the Kings League and the Americas Kings League to participate in the World Cup will be known after both splits' league phases are over. The top eight from each tournament will directly qualify, while the remaining four sides have to do battle in qualification playoffs for the last two spots from each league.

The first two wildcards were also revealed to be two Brazilian sides, G3X FC and FURIA FC. The former's owner is none other than Twitch megastar Gaules, the renowned Counter-Strike 2 content creator who is bound to bring a lot more eyeballs to the product thanks to his worldwide reputation and following

Kings World Cup 2024 teams and owners

At the helm of FURIA are content creator Oestagiario and futsal legend Falcao, who are joined by none other than Brazil superstar Neymar. The Brazilian esports organization made its intentions for a change of visual identity and ethos clear in October 2023, and its expansion into the league is a result of this forward-thinking process.

There's also a draft where players can register themselves into the talent pool and attend the tryouts in São Paulo, Brazil, for a chance to play at this event. More details for interested footballers can be found here and on this link.

There will also be more announcements regarding new teams, owners, sponsors, and players joining this Kings World Cup 2024, so readers can follow all the updates on the official site.

From Swiss Stage to Finals: Understanding the tournament format

The Kings World Cup 2024 will have a Swiss Stage (40 matches) followed by a Knockout Stage (Round of 16 to the Grand Final). In the first round, all the sides play a match, with the pairings decided by a pure draw with no restrictions based on national coincidence.

In the second round, teams that won their first-round games will head to the winners' bracket while those that lost make their way to the losers' bracket. Teams that come out on top in the winners' bracket will qualify for the Knockout Stage, while the losers will face the winning sides from the losers' bracket in a last-chance round.

The winners from these last-chance encounters will join the winners bracket second-round victors in the Playoffs. From here, the tournament will follow the standard round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final structure. Interestingly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be present to hand over the $1M cash prize to the Kings World Cup 2024 winner.

Rules explained: Comprehensive guide to Kings World Cup 2024 regulations

This is where things get a bit intriguing, as the objective of the leagues' creators Ibai and Gerard Pique was to appeal to younger audiences by creating a football league that was shorter and made for interested content online. That is why they came up with quite a few unique sets of rules that were transparently created via a voting process on social media, with fans allowed to contribute and vote on the laws.

Some of the most interesting regulations (that have also attracted criticism from a few quarters) include wild cards, tie-breaker penalties from the center of the field, handballs for throw-ins, unlimited substitutions, yellow cards resulting in two-minute exclusions, and red cards resulting in a five-minute exclusion until a substitute can enter.

There's also the special "secret weapons" ordinance that each team can use once every game. For the second split of the Kings League and the inaugural Queens League, league cards were introduced, reducing matches to anything between one-on-one and six-on-six situations.

Lastly, the league follows the draft and trade system followed in North American sports. It involves a virtual economy where teams get a fixed amount of "Euros" (100 million) and players can be exchanged for this currency (or player swaps, draft picks, or a combination).

There's lots to be excited about considering the quality of players on show and the kind of rules that make the action spectator-friendly at the venue and for those watching on live broadcasts. Of course, there's also the celebrity involvement of former players, star streamers, and popular entrepreneurs, so the Kings World Cup 2024 should be a spectacle that might just once and for all prove that this hybrid football event is here to stay.

Streams Charts will keep updating the tables as and when more details are revealed by the organizers.