MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Goalscoring phenomenon? Check.
Investor in chess? Check.
Manchester City and Norway striker Erling Haaland wants to bring new audiences to the board game after becoming a strategic investor in a world chess championship tour scheduled to launch next year.
Haaland has helped to establish a company called Chess Mates, which will be a “significant owner” of Norway Chess — the owner of the Total Chess World Championship Tour.
“Chess
is an incredible game,” he said in a Total Chess statement. “It sharpens the mind, and there are clear similarities to football. You have to think quickly, trust your instincts, and think several moves ahead.”
Haaland is starting to branch out with his business interests, launching his own YouTube channel last year that has more than 1.4 million subscribers.
The 25-year-old Haaland has combined with Norwegian businessman Morten Borge for their undisclosed investment in chess, and said he wants to turn the game “into an even bigger sport for spectators around the world.”
The new tour will be hosted in four new cities and combine different disciplines in chess — fast classic, rapid and blitz — to crown a combined world champion with a minimum annual prize pool of $2.7 million.
Norway Chess chief executive Kjell Madland said Haaland had “already contributed with several great ideas.”
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