Pique enters a new game with Haaland, a fresh wave catching the sports world's attention

Gerard Pique has just become a strategic shareholder of a chess team, thereby joining the wave of renowned sports figures such as Erling Haaland who are pouring money into a discipline being promoted toward entertainment and global commerce.

Gerard Pique is expanding his sports investment portfolio into a rather unexpected field: chess. The former Barcelona and Spain national team center-back has been announced as a strategic shareholder of Fyers American Gambits, a franchise competing in the Global Chess League (GCL).

"Chess has captivated me for a long time because of its depth, global appeal, and the incredible mental strength this sport demands,"Pique shared.

The notable deal is not only due to the fame of the 2010 World Cup champion. It also highlights an emerging trend in the global sports world: more and more prominent athletes and former athletes are seeing opportunities in chess.

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has also invested in projects related to Norway Chess and the Total Chess World Championship this year. Olympic cross-country skiing champion Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo has also joined this flow of capital.

The interesting point lies in the fact that investors do not only view chess as a commercial product. According to Morten Borge, the Norwegian investor who helped bring Haaland into the project, top-level football and chess have more in common than meets the eye.

"Although on the pitch Erling looks like a physical monster, football at the highest level is also about preparation, tactics, timing, and the ability to understand decisive moments. In that aspect, it has many similarities to chess,"Borge said.

Haaland is said to be particularly drawn to the element of strategic thinking and the ability to maintain focus under pressure. In fact, the connection between football and chess has existed for a long time.

Pep Guardiola frequently mentions chess when talking about football tactics. Mohamed Salah has also publicly expressed his interest in this discipline, while big names in tennis like Boris Becker and Novak Djokovic have both used chess as a way to train their thinking and decision-making abilities.

But what is changing is that chess is no longer just a hobby or a mental training tool. Organizers are trying to turn this centuries-old discipline into a sports entertainment product suitable for the digital age.

The Global Chess League, a project backed by Tech Mahindra and the World Chess Federation (FIDE), adopts a franchise model, shorter competition formats, and a strong focus on television, streaming, digital content, and commercial sponsorship. This is precisely the factor that makes investors see an untapped market.

"When a niche sport like darts can still be commercialized successfully, while nearly a billion people worldwide play chess, the opportunity is very clear,"Borge commented.

Pique's involvement can therefore be seen as a new sign of chess's transformation. After retiring, the former Barcelona center-back has built companies active in sports and media, while also participating in the overhaul of numerous sports entertainment products.

Now, chess has become the next name on Pique's radar.

Fyers American Gambits will take part in the fourth season of the Global Chess League, held in Bengaluru in September.

If this model continues to attract influential figures like Pique or Haaland, chess may be moving closer to its goal of transcending the image of a traditional intellectual game to become a global sports entertainment product.