Usain Bolt Joins Wythenshawe FC Veterans Squad

Usain Bolt is about to swap the starting blocks for a Sunday league pitch in Greater Manchester – at least, that’s what the teamsheet suggests.

The eight-time Olympic champion, still the fastest man in history over 100m and 200m, has appeared on the online squad list for Wythenshawe FC Veterans on the Football Association’s Full-Time website. One moment you’re scrolling through familiar names from old Premier League seasons; the next, you see Usain Bolt tucked into a veterans’ roster.

This is no ordinary pub side. Wythenshawe FC Veterans play in the Cheshire Veterans League and are managed by former Manchester City and Republic of Ireland midfielder Stephen Ireland. The squad reads like a who’s who of the last two decades of English top-flight football.

• Danny Drinkwater.
• Antonio Valencia.
• Joleon Lescott.
• Emile Heskey.
• Marc Albrighton.
• Nedum Onuoha.
• Papiss Cissé.

All have pulled on the shirt. Between them, last season’s group had stacked up more than 1,800 Premier League appearances. Now, potentially, they’re adding the greatest sprinter of all time to the mix.

Bolt, 40, has never hidden his love of football. After he bowed out of athletics following the 2017 World Championships, he chased the dream of a professional career with the ball at his feet, turning out briefly for Australian side Central Coast Mariners. The experiment didn’t last long, but it underlined how serious he was about testing himself in a new sport.

A devoted Manchester United supporter, the Jamaican has also become a familiar face in the Soccer Aid charity matches over the past decade, regularly drawing crowds and cameras whenever he laces up his boots. A veterans’ league in Greater Manchester might sound a world away from Olympic finals and packed stadiums, but Bolt has always relished a stage – any stage.

For now, Wythenshawe have not formally announced his signing. The club have been contacted for comment, and the football world is left to picture the sight: a back four of former internationals, a bench full of ex-Premier League names, and out on the wing, at a Sunday ground in Cheshire, the world-record holder stretching his legs one more time.