BENGALURU, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Former Spain footballer Gerard Pique has become a strategic shareholder in a Global Chess League franchise, joining a growing number of athletes, like Erling Haaland,to invest in a sport rapidly evolving into a commercial entertainment property.
Pique, a World Cup winner and founder of sports and media company Kosmos, was announced as the latest shareholder in franchise Fyers American Gambits at a press conference in Bengaluru, India on Monday.
"Chess has fascinated me for a long time because of its depth, its global appeal and the incredible mental strength it demands," the former Barcelona player said in a statement.
The investment comes amid a broader push to transform chess from a traditional board game into a global sports product through franchise leagues, digital content, sponsorships and streaming platforms.
Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin is a shareholder in the American Gambits.
Norway's multiple Olympic cross-country skiing champion Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo and Haaland also invested this year in Norway Chess and the Total Chess World Championship, which is backed by the International Chess Federation (FIDE).
"There are so many interesting parallels," Norwegian investor Morten Borge, who helped bring Manchester City striker Haaland into the project, told Reuters.
"Even though on the pitch Erling looks like a physical monster, football at the highest level is also about preparation, strategy, timing and understanding decisive moments. In that sense, there are similarities to chess."
Borge said Haaland was drawn to the game's emphasis on strategic thinking and the mental discipline required to perform under pressure.
The crossover reflects a wider trend in sport, where athletes increasingly use chess to sharpen concentration, decision-making and pattern recognition.
Former Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has frequently referenced chess and strategy in discussions about football.
Several athletes across sports have publicly spoken about using the game as a training tool, including former Liverpool forward Mohamed Salahand tennis greats Boris Becker and Novak Djokovic.
At the same time, investors increasingly see commercial opportunities in chess.
The Global Chess League, backed by Indian technology giants Tech Mahindra and FIDE, has sought to broaden the sport's appeal through shorter formats designed for television and digital audiences.
Borge believes chess is following a path taken by several niche sports that successfully expanded beyond their traditional fan bases.
"When you can commercialize a narrow sport like darts, and when almost a billion people around the world play chess, the opportunity is obvious," he said.
American Gambits will compete at the fourth edition of GCL in Bengaluru in September.
(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in BengaluruEditing by Christian Radnedge)
