Usain Bolt Joins Wythenshawe Vets FC in Veterans' League

Usain Bolt, the fastest man in history, is back on a teamsheet – this time in the veterans’ leagues of south Manchester.

The eight-time Olympic champion has been officially registered to play for Wythenshawe Vets FC, according to the Football Association's Full-Time website. Listed as a 40-year-old player for the over-35s side, the Jamaican sprint icon is now part of a squad turning Sunday league football into a who’s who of former Premier League names.

This is not your average veterans’ outfit. Wythenshawe, based in south Manchester and competing in the Premier Division of the Cheshire Veterans Football League, drew attention last season for assembling a dressing room stacked with top-flight experience.

Notable Players

• Emile Heskey, the former England and Liverpool striker.
• Oumar Niasse, once leading the line for Everton.
• Antonio Valencia, former Manchester United captain.
• Papiss Cisse, the ex-Newcastle United forward with a highlight reel of spectacular goals.
• Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha.
• Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Now, add Usain Bolt to that list.

Bolt still holds the world records in the 100m and 200m, both set in that unforgettable week at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. His retirement from athletics in 2017 never quite closed the door on football. He pushed hard to make the crossover.

In 2018, he scored twice in a friendly for Australian A-League side Central Coast Mariners, a brief glimpse of what his pace might look like with a ball at his feet. He signed a contract with the club after turning down a two-year offer from Maltese side Valletta, but the experiment ended after just eight weeks.

Now the comeback has a different backdrop: not packed stadiums and global TV audiences, but the tight, competitive world of veterans’ football in Cheshire.

Wythenshawe Vets have not yet officially announced Bolt’s registration, and the club has been contacted for comment. Until they speak, the FA listing stands on its own – a small line on a website carrying a very big name.

If Bolt does pull on the shirt, Sunday league defenders in Manchester may soon find themselves chasing a familiar figure into the channels, just as the rest of the world once did down a straight 100m track.