Usain Bolt Joins Wythenshawe Vets FC for Veterans League

Usain Bolt, the fastest man in history, is swapping Olympic finals for a veterans’ Sunday league in Manchester.

The eight-time Olympic champion has been listed as a registered player for Wythenshawe Vets FC on the Football Association's Full-Time website. The 40-year-old Jamaican is down to turn out in the Premier Division of the Cheshire Veterans Football League, an over-35s competition in south Manchester.

This is not just any Sunday league outfit. Wythenshawe Vets made waves last season by stitching together a squad that reads like a roll call from a Premier League years montage.

Their current roster features former England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, ex-Everton forward Oumar Niasse, former Manchester United captain Antonio Valencia, and one-time Newcastle United striker Papiss Cisse. Add in Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha, plus Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater, and it starts to look less like a veterans’ side and more like a throwback all-star team.

Now Bolt’s name sits among them.

The Jamaican still holds the world records over 100m and 200m, both set in that unforgettable 2009 World Championships in Berlin. Since retiring from the track in 2017, he has chased a long-stated ambition: to make it in professional football.

He had a high-profile trial with Australian A-League side Central Coast Mariners in 2018, scoring twice in a friendly and earning a contract offer after turning down a two-year deal from Maltese club Valletta. The experiment was short-lived; he left the Mariners just eight weeks after signing.

This latest move is on a very different stage, but it keeps the football chapter of his story alive.

Wythenshawe Vets have not officially announced Bolt’s registration. The club has been contacted for comment.