Haaland stumps up for Bryne fans to go to playoff game

(Reuters) - Norway and Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has offered to pay for fans of his former club Bryne FK to attend the team's playoff game on Saturday.

Second-tier Bryne, Haaland's boyhood club, have reached the playoffs for the first time since 2006 and have a chance of getting promoted to Norway's Eliteserien.

Haaland, 23, will cover the cost of the train trip for around 200 fans, around NOK 175,000 ($16,000).

"Times are tough for people financially, and that makes it harder for people to prioritize travelling to a game like this here," Bryne marketing manager Bjorn Hagerud Roken told TV 2.

"This has therefore given more fans the opportunity to travel."

Haaland started his career in the youth ranks at Bryne before progressing to the first team in 2016.

He joined top-tier Molde before moving to Austrian champions RB Salzburg, Germany's Borussia Dortmund and Premier League Manchester City in 2022.