Universe League (Korean: 유니버스 리그) is a 2024–2025 South Korean reality competition show created by SBS. The show followed the process of creating a new boy group. It premiered on SBS TV on November 22, 2024, and aired every Friday at 23:20 (KST). In the finale on January 24, 2025, which was broadcast live, the show announced the final nine (instead of eight) members who would debut as AHOF (a backronym for All-time Hall Of Famer) and will be managed by F&F Entertainment.

The show served as a sequel to Universe Ticket, this time featuring all male contestants.

Universe League was developed as the second season to Universe Ticket, which formed the girl group Unis. The second season was first teased during the Universe Ticket finale on January 17, 2024, with a promotional video revealing the title Universe League. On January 22, F&F Entertainment, in partnership with Prism Studios, confirmed their involvement and announced that preparations for the second season were underway, with plans to air the show on SBS later in the year. Building on the success of its predecessor, the format was restructured to focus on team-based competition, drawing inspiration from professional sports leagues. F&F Entertainment CEO Choi Jae-woo emphasized this shift in focus, stating that the goal was to highlight collaboration within the teams rather than individual popularity. Additionally, the format incorporated a system of starting and bench players, designed to "encourage participant's competitive drive and motivation to succeed". The ultimate goal for each team is to win the Prism Cup, securing their debut as a professional idol group.

Casting for Universe League began on April 22, 2024, with applications open to individuals born before 2011, setting the minimum age requirement at 14 years. There were no restrictions on career, affiliation, or nationality, allowing both trainees and independent artists to participate. In addition to direct applications, the production team encouraged viewers to recommend potential contestants through the show's official social media channels, with submissions accepted until June 30, 2024. To generate interest in the auditions, the production team released a series of promotional videos in June 2024, featuring Universe Ticket mentors Hyoyeon and Kim Se-jeong, as well as artists like Oneus, ONF, STAYC, Unis's Nana, and WayV's Xiaojun. These videos were shared on the show's official platforms to broaden the reach of the casting call.

After the application period closed, the final roster of 42 contestants was revealed on October 15. At the show's press conference on November 19, producer Lee Hwan-jin explained that the decision to limit the contestant pool to 42 was made to allow for more selective casting, focusing on factors like appearance, talent, and star potential. This smaller roster was intended to ensure each contestant would have sufficient screen time over the show's 10-episode run.

Meanwhile, as preparations for the main competition continued, SBS began unveiling the lineup of senior K-pop artists who would serve as the show's host and team directors. The competition is divided into three main teams: Team Beat, Team Groove, and Team Rhythm. On August 8, Jay Park was announced as the host, chosen for his prior hosting experience on the first season of The Seasons. This was followed by the confirmation of Lee Chang-sub as the team director for Team Groove, Yugyeom as the team director for Team Beat, and Ten and Yangyang as co-directors for Team Rhythm. On October 16, producer El Capitxn was also announced as a co-director for Team Beat, joining Yugyeom. Additionally, WayV members Kun and Xiaojun made appearances as guest directors for Team Rhythm, while rapper Punchnello served as a guest director for Team Beat.

The competition followed a multi-stage structure referred to as PRISM, an acronym representing the first five stages of the show: Pick, Represent, Intercept, Seven, and Move. The final stage was titled WAR, short for We Are Ready. Contestants, referred to as players (Korean: 선수), progressed through these stages by competing in both individual and team-based challenges. The competition began with a draft process during the Pick stage, where team directors selected players to form their respective teams. The next three stages—Represent (Round 1), Intercept (Round 2), and Seven (Round 3)—featured performance-based rounds. Player rankings and eliminations were determined through a combination of live audience scores, global online voting, and decisions made by team directors. Online voting was conducted through the KTOPSTAR and HIGHER aps, as well as the official SBS website. The final two stages, Move and WAR, served to finalize the lineup of debuting members.

The Pick stage was divided into two parts. In the first part, the 42 contestants were divided into seven groups of six, with each group performing as a unit. After each performance, team directors selected their "first picks" (Korean: 퍼스트픽) from the performing group. If multiple directors chose the same player, the player chose which team to join. Directors not selected by the player then moved on to recruit their second picks from the same group. This process continued until all teams filled their initial starting lineup. In the second part of the Pick stage, referred to as the "bench test" (Korean: 벤치테스트), the 21 remaining contestants who had not been selected underwent one-on-one assessments by the team directors. Based on these evaluations, directors selected additional players to form their bench units. Contestants not chosen during this phase were eliminated from the competition. This completed the team formation process and initiated the performance-based stages of the show.