The Kings World Cup Nations is a 7-a-side football tournament that combines competitive excitement with spectacle, featuring prominent participants, including former football stars, influencers, and content creators. The event involves 16 national teams and is governed by unique rules derived from the original Kings League format.

The inaugural edition, and the first Kings League competition held in Italy, began on 1 January 2025 at the Kings League Arena in Via dei Missaglia, Milan. Italy made its debut against Japan in the opening match. The tournament continued until the final on 12 January at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, where the first Kings World Cup Nations trophy was awarded.

Anticipation is now building for the Italian Kings League championship, set to start on 3 February. Created two years ago by former footballer Gerard Piqué, the format primarily targets younger audiences, blending entertainment with sports competition. The KWCN achieved a record audience of 100 million viewers and 1.5 billion social media impressions.

Matches were streamed on platforms such as Twitch, YouTube, Kick, TikTok, and Facebook, and broadcast by traditional networks in over 60 countries. In Italy, they aired live on Sky Sport channels, including Sky Sport Max and TV8.

Unique Gameplay Features

The tournament’s rules are particularly innovative, with 40-minute matches, shootouts to resolve ties, “presidential” penalties, and special cards affecting gameplay, such as double-goal cards and temporary dismissals.

On the pitch, professional football veterans alternated with amateur players, while teams and national squads were led by influencers and streamers acting as team presidents.

EMG / Gravity Media Italy’s Role

EMG Italy, part of the EMG / Gravity Media group, provided all broadcast services for the Kings League Italy and the Kings World Cup Nations. This included live coverage and streaming distribution for the final at the Allianz Stadium and the upcoming Italian championship. A team of around 40 professionals managed all technical aspects, such as lighting and LED wall setups, to deliver an immersive experience for both in-person and remote audiences.

The visual design of the format stands out for its modern and engaging approach, elevating the event beyond traditional sports. The Kings League Arena was transformed into a “football theatre,” featuring meticulously crafted scenic setups.

The Kings League Arena

A dynamic lighting and LED wall system was used to create a vibrant, modern atmosphere. Lighting effects highlighted key moments like team entrances and goal celebrations, as well as sponsor messages. Large LED panels surrounded the pitch, displaying customised graphics, replays, exclusive content, scores, standings, and real-time interactive visuals, contributing to an immersive narrative.

The Kings League structure spans 6,000 sqm, featuring a detailed pitch surrounded by high borders, creating an “arena” effect reminiscent of American sports events. This setup also catered to online audiences, with innovative camera angles, a drone for aerial shots, and augmented reality enhancements during broadcasts. The stands accommodate approximately 400 spectators, offering an intimate and immersive experience for on-site audiences.

Interactive and Technological Experience

Francesco Donato, CTO of EMG Italy, explained: “We handled the technical setup and production, implementing about 200 sqm of scenic LED wall systems. The LED walls, controlled by a complex watch-out system, were used around the pitch perimeter, in the primary camera-facing area, and behind the goals to display sponsor content, scores, and additional show features. We also installed field lighting, delivering 1,200 lux uniformly distributed with LED technology, and several moving heads critical to the event’s visual success. The indoor audio system was separately managed for field coverage and audience diffusion, distinct from the broadcast system.”

Presidents and Social Streaming

Each team was represented by a president, a content creator with an established fanbase who streamed live commentary from pitch-side setups. EMG Italy equipped the main control room for managing audio, video, lighting, and LED walls in dedicated shelters outside the arena. Around 20 cameras were deployed for live production, providing feeds for presidents/streamers and international broadcasts in English, Italian, and Spanish. Two additional control rooms supported Italian and Spanish integration, with pre- and post-match commentary studios. Feeds were distributed to around 60 international takers via SRT streams.

Donato added: “The small pitch size significantly influenced the dynamics of camera placement, given the faster pace compared to traditional football. Besides broadcast-quality pitch cameras, we used micro-cameras behind goals, PTZ units, and a lightweight drone to achieve high-quality and dynamic images.”

Control Room, VAR, Team, and Setup

The permanent control room, also used for the regular season, coordinated a complex mix of entertainment and sports production. It featured camera, lighting, and LED wall control stations, a powerful mixer with three effect desks, four graphic stations, two super motion replay desks, and two dedicated VAR desks.

The production team expanded to over 40 professionals, including new roles for field activities such as Watch Out operators, lighting technicians, and a sound designer for arena and broadcast audio management. Dedicated microphone operators supported the presidents’ stations, while two mini-studios for Italian and Spanish unilateral feeds hosted pre- and post-match commentary.

Francesco Donato’s Final Comment

“We’re witnessing a significant shift in audiences and content distribution methods, making events accessible on the move and across a variety of devices, beyond traditional TV screens. The sold-out final on 12 January at Allianz Stadium embodied this new global entertainment model, featuring not only the Colombia vs Brazil match but also a Mahmood concert and a Legends vs Streamers special match to enhance the overall show experience. It’s fascinating to see how such an event has engaged a broader audience, attracting young people and families—a different demographic from traditional football stadiums.”

© 2025 Presspool PressOffice RobertoLandini

Milan, 30 December 2024 – After the success of the first edition, the Kings League has finally landed in Italy too, ready to amaze for its innovative format (born from an idea of former Spanish footballer Gerard Piquè), for the many protagonists involved (it is played with the 7-a-side football formula), but above all for the spectacular plays of the athletes on the field (former football stars, influencers and youtubers). After the presentation event and the Draft at the beginning of January (involving the cities of Milan and Turin) the World Cup will be staged, while the first Italian Kings League championship will start at the end of January and in February.

EMG Italy, part of the EMG / Gravity Media group, a leading provider of broadcast and media production services at national and international level), will provide all broadcast services on these occasions, including live coverage of the matches, streaming distribution, and the supply of materials and professionals for the success of the events.

The final at the Allianz Stadium in Turin

The first match of the Kings World Cup Nations will take place on Wednesday 1 January 2025 at 16:00 at the Kings League Arena in Milan. Italy will make its debut in the opening match against Japan. Following this, from 17:00 and with one match every hour until 19:00, the other three matches of the day will be played: Uzbekistan-Saudi Arabia, Argentina-Spain and United States-Mexico.

The following day, on Thursday 2 January, the remaining national teams will take the stage at the same times, scheduled as follows: at 16:00 Brazil-South Korea, at 17:00 Turkey-Ukraine, at 18:00 Colombia-Morocco and in closing at 19:00 Peru-Germany. The event will then continue with all subsequent matches, based on the results of the first competitions: with subsequent events scheduled for 3 and 4 January.

It will then resume on Epiphany with the so-called ‘knockout stage draw’, where the pairings will be made for the ‘last chance’ challenges, which will also continue the following day, before making way for the quarterfinals on 8 and 9 January. The final instead, scheduled at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, will be on Sunday 12 January at 18:00. And, on this occasion, the first Kings World Cup Nations in the history of this sport-entertainment format will be awarded.

EMG Italy’s commitment

EMG Italy will provide, on the basis of a multi-year agreement, all broadcast services (project consultancy and set-up, means, crew and technological equipment). Specifically, the live coverage and streaming distribution of Kings League Italy (for a total of 26 match days) is foreseen. In addition, there will also be live coverage and production of the streaming of the ‘Kings World Cup Nations’ for the 2025 season. In addition, at the debut of this new partnership, EMG Italy produced live coverage of the Kings League Italy Draft presentation evening and the Kings World Cup Nations draw (held at the Teatro Regio in Turin on 5 December).

Inside the Kings League Arena at the ‘Vismara Fondazione Don Gnocchi’ centre in Milan, the venue of the event, a crew of about 40 people will be employed, with a strong focus on the technological part of the project (in particular the lighting/led set), with the aim of enriching the experience of playing and watching the matches, both for the spectators present and those connected.

‘We have embraced this project, which is already revolutionizing the world of football thanks to a perfect mix of entertainment and innovation, because it promises to always capture the attention of the Italian public. The Kings League aims to create a different experience compared to traditional football (based on creative rules and a unique format) and for this reason it has already won thousands of fans abroad,’ said Claudio Cavallotti, Managing Director of EMG Italy. ‘We will bring with us the experience gained over the years in the production of the most important national and international sports events. At the same time, we believe we can engage viewers in a new live experience, contributing concretely to the success of the Kings League in our country’.