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RIYADH: Football legend and former Barcelona player Gerard Pique is bringing Kings League, the game that revolutionized online football gaming, to the Middle East and North Africa region, with �������� at its heart.

The Spanish defender inaugurated Kings League MENA last night as part of the ongoing Esports World Cup, where the new team presidents from the region were also announced.

Pique started Kings League in Spain in 2023, and after a successful first launch has since expanded to other leagues worldwide including Italy, Brazil, Japan, France, Germany, Hispanic America, and the US.

On how he envisions the Kings League gaming community to look like in the MENA region, Pique told Arab News: “Very young, very motivated, very committed to the product and the project.

“I’m sure that there will be a lot of intensity, a lot of clashes (between streamer fans), this is what we want.

“We want them to care and want to win, and that they dedicate everything they have to winning.”

The unconventional seven-a-side football game was designed with younger audiences in mind, adding more creativity and free reign with secret weapons or “golden cards,” unlimited substitutions, sin bins, and penalty shoot-outs after every draw.

Kings League was also created in a way that brings together fans with their most beloved content creators and streamers taking the role of team presidents in each region.

The MENA teams and their presidents were announced to be SXB FC, led by Ahmed Alqahtani from ��������, Ultra Chmicha led by Morroccan Ilyas Elmaliki, Red Zone led by Jordanian Maher Sultaneh, 3BS led by Jordanian Hani AlQoublam, FWZ FC led by Kuwaiti Fawaz Hamad, Turbo led by Egyptian Saleh Tarboun, and DR7 led by Saudi streamer Mafrah Aseeri.

Elmaliki, Morroco’s top streamer, was appointed president of Morocco’s national team in the Kings World Cup Nations held in Italy where his team made it all the way to the semifinals. Ultra Chmicha was later invited by Pique to join the Kings World Cup Clubs 2025 as the first wildcard team.

Alqahtani’s SXB FC was also picked as a wildcard for the Paris games, and their match against Jijantes FC drew a record breaking 950,000 live viewers, the tournament’s highest.

“We have amazing streamers,” Pique said. “They have huge communities that are very loyal to them.”

“They have to have good players because the level is very high in Kings League. But I know some of them, and I’m sure that that they will bring a lot of fun, a lot of entertainment and a good level of football.”

Fans can now submit their application and try their chance at getting drafted to join one of the official Kings League MENA teams, potentially later qualifying for the Kings World Cup Clubs or represent their country in the Kings World Cup Nations Brazil 2026.

Kings League MENA is a joint venture with SURJ Sports Investment as part of an ongoing effort to expand digital sports and entertainment in the region.

Having visited the Kingdom a few times before with Barcelona for the Spanish Super Cup, Pique also told Arab News that he is always “very happy when I come here.

“The food is amazing. And I think the people, you are very similar to Spanish people.

“When you arrive to the country, everything is very comfortable, so I’m enjoying it so much.”

TOKYO: Japanese boxing officials will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday as the sport in the country faces intense scrutiny following the deaths of two fighters in separate bouts at the same event.

Super featherweight Shigetoshi Kotari and lightweight Hiromasa Urakawa, both 28, fought on the same card at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall on August 2 and died days later following brain surgery.

The Japan Boxing Commission (JBC), gym owners and other boxing officials are under pressure to act and will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday.

They are also expected to have talks about safety next month, local media said.

“We are acutely aware of our responsibility as the manager of the sport,” Tsuyoshi Yasukochi, secretary-general of the JBC, told reporters on Sunday.

“We will take whatever measures we can.”

Japanese media highlighted the risks of fighters dehydrating to lose weight rapidly before weigh-ins.

“Dehydration makes the brain more susceptible to bleeding,” the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said.

That is one of the issues the JBC plans to discuss with trainers.

“They want to hear from gym officials who work closely with the athletes about such items as weight loss methods and pre-bout conditioning, which may be causally related (to fatalities),” the Nikkan Sports newspaper said.

In one immediate measure, the commission has decided to reduce all Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation title bouts to 10 rounds from 12.

“The offensive power of Japanese boxing today is tremendous,” Yasukochi was quoted by the Asahi Shimbun as telling reporters.

“We have more and more boxers who are able to start exchanges of fierce blows from the first round. Maybe 12 rounds can be dangerous.”