With the Icon League, the fresh soccer retiree Toni Kroos has started a new project even before his retirement – and it promises to be big, befitting his name!
What is the Icon League? A new small-sided football league that is likely to be quite similar to the already existing Baller League – or is it?
Here you will find all the information about the new Icon League: participants, teams, dates and schedule, the mode with the special rules and the live broadcast.
Icon League Schedule & Results: 12th matchday, 18.11.
The current Icon League table
What is the new Icon League?
The Icon League was born on November 6, 2023. On this day, it was announced that Germany’s top footballer Toni Kroos and social media star Elias Nerlich were launching a joint project.
The Icon League will be a small-sided football league in which teams of 5 players each will compete against each other in one league.
The key data of the Icon League 2024
Like the famous Kings League of Gerard Pique and also Baller League of Mats Hummels and Lukas Podolski, which premiered in 2024, The Icon League is also a tribute to the former Budenzauber.
However, the new Icon League 2024 promises to be a little different from the two templates we know so far. How will it differ from Baller League and Kings League? It will be interesting to see.
Toni Kroos was only cryptic in an interview: “We will create something new, something innovative, something electrifying. We will offer very entertaining football with entertainment – a spectacle.”
The start of the Icon League 2024 will be on September 1. Then we will know more…
Icon League start and schedule 2024: All dates at a glance
When does the Icon League 2024 start?
The 2024 Icon League starts on Sunday, September 1 at 3:00 p.m. The venue for the first match day is the Lanxess Arena in Cologne.
A total of 13 match days are on the 2024 Icon League schedule, which will be played on Mondays starting with match day 2.
After the basic round, there will be a play-in tournament, which will take place on December 2. The last of the 15 Icon League dates in 2024 is the date for the final. The final is scheduled for December 15.
Icon League Schedule & Dates:
- Matchday 1: September 1
- Matchday 2: September 9
- Matchday 3: September 16
- Matchday 4: September 23
- Matchday 5: September 30
- Matchday 6: October 7
- Matchday 7: October 14
- Matchday 8: October 21
- Game Day 9: October 28
- Game Day 10: November 4
- Game Day 11: November 11
- Matchday 12: 18 November
- Matchday 13: 25 November
- Play Ins: 2 December
- Final: 15 December
Venue: Where are the games taking place?
The first match day of the “Toni Kroos League” will be played in Cologne at the Lanxess Arena. This should be a tremendous kick-off!
After that, all the games of the regular season and the play-in tournament will take place in Düsseldorf at the Castello Mehrzweckhalle.
The final on December 15 will be held at the SAP Garden in Munich, the brand-new stadium of the Red Bull Munich ice hockey team and FC Bayern Basketball.
Icon League 2024 Stars & Teams: Who’s in?
Which teams and participants will be taking part in the Icon League 2024? Both current and former professional footballers, as well as other big names from the world of sports, TV and internet entertainment, will lead the 14 teams.
These are the team captains of the 14 Icon League teams:
Icon League Teams and their Captains
- Berlin City FC: Luciano and Antonio Rüdiger
- Players United: Leon Draisatl and Claudio Pizarro
- Two Stripes United: Felix Kroos and Robert Andrich
- Bavarian Clique: Franck Ribéry and ViscaBarca
- DNA Athletics: David Alaba and Niklas Wilson-Sommer
- The Pack: Simon Terodde and Wolff-Christoph Fuss
- B2B United: Bilal Kamarieh and Benjamin Henrichs
- Bürgeramt: Reezy and Achraf
- Berlin Underdogs: Ski Aggu and Fabian Reese
- Motor Neu5Land: Thorsten Mattuschka, FiNCH and Tim Kleindienst
- FOKUS Eagles: Sidney Friede and Jordan Torunarigha
- Wontorriors: Laura Wontorra and Nils Glagau
- FC One Football: Alphonso Davies and the One Football community
- FC Buzz Club: Omar Marmoush, Breel Embolo and Ismail Jakobs
League founder Elias Nerlich revealed the following about the teams in advance: “Many well-known names from the football scene, the entertainment industry and also the music industry have agreed to participate.”
Admittedly, he didn’t promise too much. The list of Icon League participants for 2024 includes very prominent names from the big, wide world of football.
For example, many of the 14 Icon League teams include active soccer stars. These include, among others, the two Real Madrid stars Antonio Rüdiger and David Alaba, as well as Alphonso Davies (FC Bayern), Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig) and Fabian Reese of Hertha BSC.
But former Bayern stars Franck Ribery and Claudio Pizarro also lead two Icon League teams.
With Leon Draisaitl, one of the best ice hockey players of the present day is even on the list of Icon League participants – as are soccer presenter Laura Wontorra and soccer commentator Wolf Fuss.
Which celeb is leading which team?
Antonio Rüdiger leads the team “Berlin City FC”, Robert Andrich together with Toni brother Felix Kroos the selection called “Two Stripes United” and Franck Ribery the “Bavarian Clique”.
The soccer/ice hockey duo Claudio Pizarro/Leon Draisaitl pull the strings at “Players United”, David Alaba leads the team “DNA Athletics”.
Fabian Reese is the manager of the “Berlin Underdogs” together with Ski Aggu, and Benjamin Henrichs is there for “B2B United”.
In the Icon League teams, Laura Wontorra manages the team even named after her “Wontorriors” and Wolff Fuss will not only talk a lot with “The Pack” together with Simon Terrode, but maybe also be allowed to decide something here and there.
Modus & Rules of the new Icon League
What will the format and mode of the new Icon League be?
The games are played with 5 vs. 5 and with a board. There are already two differences to the Baller League, where 6 vs. 6 and without a board is played.
With a corresponding set of rules, everything should be even more exciting and varied.
There is one “rulebreaker” per team during the game, who can be used once per team. There are a total of eight of these Icon League rules.
The rules of the Icon League 2024
- Player: 5 vs. 5 on the field
- Duration: 2 x 15 minutes (5-minute half-time break)
- Field: 50 x 29 meters WITH dasher board
- No tie: If the score is tied after the official playing time, “Golden Goal” decides the game.
What are the rulebreakers?
The “Rulebreakers” in Icon League Mode 2024 are special rules that a team can use to throw their opponent off rhythm or to decide a game.
For example, goals count double if you play the shot or assist over the board. In “Team Play,” goals also count double if the players have only touched the ball once each.
The “Shot Clock” is also interesting, where the attacking team has only 20 seconds to score. The “superiority” rule could be funny, where an additional player comes onto the field.
All Rulebreaker rules at a glance
- Shotclock: Attack must be executed within 20 seconds.
- Team play: Hit counts double if at least everyone on the team before it had contact with the ball.
- Bande: In case of an assist or goal over the boards, the hit counts twice.
- Tunnel: The player who was tunneled must leave the field for one minute.
- Zwei Kontakte: On a third contact, the ball goes to the other team.
- Surplus: An additional player comes onto the field.
- Position: Goalkeeper swaps with an additional field player.
The eighth and final Icon League rule regarding “Rulebreakers” may be determined by the community. This will then be incorporated into the games and used.
The rules of the Icon League 2024 can thus be expanded and changed at any time.
TV & Stream: Who is broadcasting the new small-field league?
If there is a new soccer league in Germany, especially if well-known stars are involved, the fans of the round leather naturally want to know whether it can also be seen live: Will the Icon League 2024 be broadcast anywhere?
The Icon League broadcast can be seen in full on Twitch. This is obvious, since social media star Elias Nerlich has almost two million followers on his Twich account.
The second platform for the Icon League broadcast is Pluto TV. This online platform and app provides access to 100 TV channels online. Pluto TV is easy to use and does not require registration.
It is also conceivable that some match days will also be shown on a classic TV channel – also to reach those soccer fans who are not (yet) on Twitch. The Baller League, for example, was shown live on Prosieben Maxx and also streamed on ran.de and Joyn.
But a broadcast of the IL on RTL or the niche channel Nitro would also be an option. After all, Elias Nerlich and RTL have worked together several times in the past.
Another argument in favor of an Icon League broadcast on RTL and/or Nitro: Jana Wosnitza has been signed on as the host. She is RTL’s full-time host for NFL broadcasts…
