Usain Bolt Joins Wythenshawe Vets FC for Sunday League Football

Usain Bolt, the fastest man in history, is back chasing a ball – this time on the Manchester Sunday league circuit.

The eight-time Olympic champion has been registered to play for Wythenshawe Vets FC, a veterans' side competing in the Premier Division of the Cheshire Veterans Football League. The Football Association's Full-Time website lists the 40-year-old Jamaican as part of the over-35s squad based in south Manchester.

This is no ordinary Sunday team. Wythenshawe made headlines last season for assembling a line-up stacked with former Premier League names, and the roll call for this campaign is even more eye-catching.

• Emile Heskey, the former England and Liverpool striker
• Oumar Niasse, ex-Everton forward
• Antonio Valencia, former Manchester United captain
• Papiss Cisse, former Newcastle striker
• Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha, representing Manchester City
• Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater, Premier League title winners

Now Bolt’s name sits among them.

The Jamaican still owns the world records over 100m and 200m, both set in that unforgettable week at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. After stepping away from the track in 2017, he turned his attention seriously towards football, chasing a long-held ambition to play professionally.

He had a brief but high-profile spell with Australian A-League side Central Coast Mariners in 2018, scoring twice in a friendly and signing a contract after turning down a two-year offer from Maltese club Valletta. The experiment ended quickly, with Bolt leaving the Mariners just eight weeks later.

His latest move is on a very different stage: veterans’ football on the outskirts of Manchester, surrounded by ex-pros and weekend regulars rather than global TV audiences.

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