Usain Bolt to try out "Australian Soccer"

SYDNEY, Australia — Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man, is becoming a professional soccer player after reaching a deal with Australia’s soccer team, an agent said Tuesday.

Bolt, 31, will participate in a six-week trial starting next month with the Central Coast Mariners, a club outside Sydney. If all goes well, the Jamaican track star is expected to start a season-long deal with the Mariners in October.

“After 12 weeks of to-ing and fro-ing we’ve got a club, we’ve got a commercial agreement, we just need our football federation to come to the party and we’ve got a deal,” said Tony Rallis, the sports agent who facilitated the deal.

Australia’s A-League has longed for a superstar talent that could draw into stadiums the large crowds more commonly seen at rugby and Australian rules football matches

Credit: Agency