2023 Kings League

The 2023 Kings League, also known as Kings League Infojobs due to sponsorship reasons, is the 1st season of Kings League, a Spanish seven-a-side football competition. It commenced on 1 January 2023 with the first match day of the Winter Split, which concluded on 26 March 2023. The Summer Split began on 7 May 2023, and it is set to conclude with its Final Four on 29 July 2023.

Venue
The Kings League is being held at the Cupra Arena, located in the port of Barcelona. The Cupra Arena is part of the Logistics Activities Area (ZAL in Spanish) of the Port of Barcelona. On 20 January 2023, Gerard Piqué and FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta announced that the semifinals and final of the winter split playoffs would be held as a 'Final Four' event at the Camp Nou, the home ground of FC Barcelona, on March 26, 2023.

Teams
The kit manufacturer for all teams is Adidas while the kit sponsor for all teams is InfoJobs. All teams have an "11th Player" who usually is a former professional football player and a "12th Player", a guest player who can be different for each match date

Playoffs
The playoffs were held from 24 to 26 March 2023.

Guest players
Kings League teams have the possibility to invite one player (the "12th Player") each matchday.


 * 1. Kunisports did not feature a 12th Player on Week 7.
 * 2. Enigma competed in a lucha libre mask. His identity has not been disclosed.

Transfer market
A transfer market opened among all participating teams in the month of April 2023, between the Winter and Summer Splits. The rules of the market were outlined in separate livestreams before the end of the Winter Split regular season:
 * The market will operate in a way similar to a virtual economy, with each team starting with a virtual €100 million budget.
 * Each team chairperson can set a buyout clause for their team's ten regular players. The combined amount of money allocated by a team in the buyout clause values cannot exceed €300 million, and every player's buyout clause must be worth a minimum €1 million. There is no maximum value for a single player's buyout clause, as long as the team complies with the €300 million cap. If a team chairperson fails to present the buyout clause values by the agreed deadline, all their players will have a €30 million buyout clause.
 * Guest players (11th and 12th Players) are excluded from the market.
 * Teams can sign players through two different methods:
 * Buying a player out by paying the amount of money stipulated in his buyout clause. If a buyout is completed, the player cannot refuse to leave his current team; however, if multiple teams attempt a buyout for the same player, the player is allowed to choose which team he will join.
 * Negotiation between team chairpersons, which can include trading: players can be swapped for other players or exchanged for future draft picks.
 * There will be a total of four transfer windows. During the first window, only signing through buyout will be allowed.
 * If a buyout is activated for a player for whom an offer had been accepted but not notified to the league, the buyout prevails over the offer.
 * The money teams have left after the market ends can be spent during the Summer Split in purchasing additional secret weapons (including the possibility of adding a "13th Player" for a match), or paying fines.

Summer Split (May–July 2023)
A new points system for the Summer Split was announced on 24 April 2023:
 * 3 points for a win during regular time.
 * 2 points for a penalty shoot-out win.
 * 1 point for a penalty shoout-out loss.
 * 0 points for a loss during regular time.

This system, as well as the new playoff format, will also be used in the Queens League.

Playoffs
The playoffs are slated to be held from 22 to 29 July 2023, with a new ten-team format announced on 18 April 2023.

Guest players
In May 2023, the Kings League announced the addition of a 14th Player, at the time a mystery, available to only one team. It was later revealed to be World Cup and Champions League winner Andrea Pirlo, with Jijantes FC signing him.


 * 1. Ricardo, who was 1K's 11th Player during the Winter Split, is now considered part of the regular roster per a special request from the team.

Awards

MVP of the week
After each match, a Most Valuable Player (also referred to as Simyo MVP for sponsorship reasons) is chosen. After the matchday finishes, a poll in Twitter is launched to determine which is the MVP of the week.

A list of all MVPs awarded can be found on KingsLeague's web.

Kings Cup (September–October 2023)
The 2023 Kings Cup is set to begin on 10 September 2023 and conclude on 14 October 2023.

Group stage
The groups were drawn during the Draft Day event on 4 September 2023.

Knockout stage
The format for the knockout stage was unveiled on 18 September 2023.


 * First round


 * Quarterfinals


 * Semifinal


 * Final

2024 Winter Split (January–April 2024)
The 2024 Winter Split is still considered part of the 2023 season before the adoption of a new calendar model starting with the 2024-25 season. It began on 21 January and is set to conclude on 20 April 2024.