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Usain Bolt set for football career in Australia
News & Trends •
mielekamp said his club had been working on the agreement for four to five months and there was still some work to do1 usain bolt is on the verge of sealing a deal to trial with the a-leagues central coast mariners the australian club said tuesday as the sprint legend pursues his dream of playing professional football1 the 100m and 200m world record-holder trained with norwegian club stromsgodset last month and bundesliga club borussia dortmund in march1 the planned arrangement will see him take part in a six-week trial starting next month at the mariners base in gosford some 75 kilometres 47 miles north of sydney chief executive shaun mielekamp said1 a season-long deal could follow if it goes well he told commercial broadcaster channel seven1 football agent tony rallis who has been working on the deal told sky sports radios big sports breakfast tuesday it has been agreed in principle subject to a couple of benchmarks1 mainly a trial and of course marquee funds support from governing body football federation australia he said adding that the arrangement was not a gimmick1 once the ffa comes back and says that theyll be part of the process were going to the trial this blokes an ambitious athlete. the a-league needed a hero and we got superman1 eight-time olympic champion bolt 31 who retired from athletics after augusts world championships in london is an avid manchester united fan who has long dreamt of playing top-flight football1 but fingers crossed things might play out but the most important thing is we wait to find out and see how good a footballer he is first1 if all goes well who knows he may be playing in the a-league this season1 mielekamp said reports of bolts performance at the european clubs he has trialled with have been pretty good and that every time he trains he improves significantly1 he has a very good left foot and time will tell at what level he is at and if it fits the a-league it would only be big if he could play and go really well he said1 if he comes in and he is not up to the level it could have a detrimental effect1 bolt has dominated sprinting since taking double individual gold at the beijing olympics in 20081 the charismatic sportsman went on to win a further six olympic1