Usain Bolt registers for Wythenshawe FC Veterans in English football

Usain Bolt has been registered to play for Wythenshawe FC Veterans, adding the eight-time Olympic gold medallist to an over-35s Sunday League team in Greater Manchester. The club competes in the Premier Division of the Cheshire Veterans Football League.

Bolt’s registration appears on the Football Association’s Full-Time system, although no date has been confirmed for his first appearance. The move gives the former sprinter another opportunity to play organised football after an earlier attempt to enter the professional game.

The Jamaican, who is known as a Manchester United supporter, trained with Australian A-League club Central Coast Mariners in 2018 after ending his athletics career. He did not establish a professional football career, but will now join a veterans side managed by former Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland.

Wythenshawe’s squad includes a long list of players with top-level experience. Former Manchester City defenders Joleon Lescott and Nedum Onuoha, ex-Manchester United captain Antonio Valencia, former Leicester City winger Marc Albrighton, England striker Emile Heskey and ex-Newcastle forward Papiss Cissé have all appeared for the team.

The club’s past and present players have accumulated more than 1,800 appearances in England’s top flight. Other names registered for the current campaign include Maynor Figueroa, Jefferson Montero, Kieran Westwood, Paul McShane, Adrian Mariappa, Oumar Niasse and Martyn Waghorn. Bolt’s arrival adds a former Olympic track star to a group built around retired professionals and international players.