The Kings League challenge. Glorification of commercialized and spectacularized sport

Abstract

The Kings League represents a challenge within the global football industry, pushing the relationship between sport, spectacle and entertainment to its limits in the digital age. It does so through many elements: eccentric rules designed to maximize unpredictability and excitement; the combination and overlapping of different genres across matches and shows in a sort of pastiche; the tireless exploitation of the communication possibilities offered by digital technology; celebrities – mostly streamers and a few former footballers – who act as attractions; and the continuous involvement of fan-customers-prosumers, especially younger ones. All this unfolds in an atmosphere that is always halfway between competitive event and cheerful recreational show. It is a rational strategy in economic terms, one that aims to exploit the principles of commercialization and spectacularization of sport as widely as possible, following a vigorous market logic, but also presenting itself as a cultural and commercial avant-garde for a recoding of the entire sporting canon.