LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Sports investors diversifying into emerging new small-sided, digital-focused soccer leagues are enjoying the ride so far, with audience figures and global reach expanding - but questions remain over the format's long-term viability.
Seeking to offer an alternative to traditional 90-minute soccer, new leagues such as the Spanish-based Kings League and German-originated Baller League have sprung up in recent years seeking to appeal to a younger, digital-oriented audience.
The formats, with gamified rules and a mix of former players and content creators, are drawing ever-better streaming figures and spreading internationally, including into the lucrative U.S. market. Money is flowing in too.
U.S.-based Alignment Growth, which has a portfolio in sport, led a recent investment round for the seven-a-side Kings League founded by Spanish international Gerard Pique. That raised $63 million last month, taking the league's funding to over $160 million since its 2023 launch.
“From an investment perspective, these properties offer something traditional sports can't," Alignment's co-founder and managing partner Kevin Tsujihara told Reuters.
"Direct audience ownership, lower infrastructure costs, rapid international scalability, and monetization models aligned with digital platforms.”
The Kings League launches in the U.S. this year: its eighth domestic men's league from Italy to Saudi Arabia. Typical investment needed for each market is 5-7 million euros ($5.9-8.3 million), the league says, though the U.S. venture will be more.
The six-a-side Baller League is also launching in the U.S. in March, ahead of the World Cup, after successfully expanding to the U.K. One of its major backers, EQT Ventures, led a funding round that raised $25 million in December 2024.
“The upcoming U.S. launch and the CBS Sports broadcast deal represents global consumer appetite for the format and a world-dominating ambition from the team that is hungry to leave an impression on the biggest sport on Earth,” Tom Mendoza, a partner at EQT Ventures, which is the venture capital arm of Swedish private equity firm EQT, told Reuters.
Investors say they have taken note of fast-shifting sports consumption habits, with a growing audience consuming from phones and tablets away from traditional TV screens.
“What attracted us is the convergence of three powerful trends: the shift of younger audiences to digital-first content consumption, the creator economy's ability to drive authentic engagement, and soccer's universal appeal,” said Alignment's Tsujihara.
TRADITIONAL FOOTBALL RETAINS BIG PULL
According to a Deloitte study, around 90% of Generation Z and Millennials now consume sport via social media.
The new leagues can often be seen on free platforms like YouTube and Twitch.
“Pull of user-generated content for youngsters was far greater than the levels we initially anticipated at the time of investment,” EQT's Mendoza added.
However, one investor, who asked not to be identified, warned that viewing and in-stadium attendance numbers were not the sole guarantees for investment success, with financial metrics needing to stack up too.
And not all are buying into the buzz around the new formats, noting the enduring global pull of traditional football.
“I think there’s a misconception that alternative formats like Baller League are as compelling as the highest level of the sport. They’re not competing on the same emotional or competitive plane,” said Jordan Wise, a football agent and entrepreneur.
Wise, founder of advisory firm EDEN and creative agency CAOS, estimated a credible U.S. launch would cost a hefty $8 million-$15 million or more in the first year "if you want to make real noise", given the higher costs of talent, media and staff.
In one possibly ominous sign, the Baller League has paused its Germany format while it prioritises the U.S. launch.
No reason has been given.
Investor diversification into smaller leagues is perhaps no surprise as enthusiasm spills over from elsewhere.
In traditional sports assets such as football and basketball, there were 192 private equity sports deals in 2025, up from 54 in 2019, according to financial advisers Oaklins.
And valuations are rising: the Ross-Arctos Sports Franchise Index, which tracks the growth of North America’s top four leagues, grew 5.2% in the third quarter, bringing its year-to-date return to 16.9% in 2025.
All that, say investors, is encouraging them to scope out the emergence of new sports assets for potential future gains despite the risks in an unproven field.
(Reporting by Streisand Neto; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
