Usain Bolt Set for Sunday League Football With Wythenshawe FC Veterans
The fastest man alive is about to find out how fast a Sunday league left-back can be. Usain Bolt's name has appeared on the online squad list for Wythenshawe FC Veterans, an over-35s team in the Cheshire Veterans League, according to the Football Association's Full-Time website (The Guardian).
Bolt, who turned 40 this year, has said he is ready to join the ex-Premier League stars already turning out for the club (talkSPORT). Wythenshawe FC Veterans had not yet formally announced the signing at the time of reporting and had been contacted for comment (The Guardian). The Irish News reported on 21 August that Bolt appeared set to turn out for the Manchester-based side (The Irish News).
If the squad list is anything to go by, Bolt will be keeping some serious company. Wythenshawe FC Veterans are managed by Stephen Ireland, the former Manchester City and Republic of Ireland midfielder. Last season, the squad had more than 1,800 Premier League appearances between them. Among the familiar names to have pulled on the shirt: Danny Drinkwater, Antonio Valencia, Joleon Lescott, Emile Heskey, Marc Albrighton, Nedum Onuoha and Papiss Cissé (The Guardian).
That is a roll-call most Championship clubs would envy. Now they could be adding an eight-time Olympic gold medallist to the mix.
Bolt's football ambitions are not new. After retiring from athletics following the 2017 World Championships, he spent a brief spell with Australian side Central Coast Mariners, even scoring in a pre-season friendly. He has been a regular in Soccer Aid — the annual charity match that pits celebrities and former pros against each other — for the best part of a decade. He is also an ardent Manchester United supporter, frequently seen at Old Trafford and never shy about his allegiance (The Guardian).
The Cheshire Veterans League is a long way from the Premier League spotlight. It is organised, competitive football for players over 35 — the kind of Sunday morning fixture that involves carrying your own boots, checking the pitch for dog mess, and wondering whether your hamstrings will survive 90 minutes. Bolt's top speed once registered at 27.8 miles per hour. The average veteran left-back tops out somewhere around "brisk jog."
For Wythenshawe, the appeal is obvious. For Bolt, it is a chance to test himself in a proper team environment, against players who spent careers in the English top flight, rather than in staged exhibitions. Whether the hamstring holds up on a bobbly Cheshire pitch is another matter entirely.
