Olympic champion Usain Bolt could make debut for Central Coast Mariners at end of August

NEARLY 200 million people worldwide have followed Usain Bolt’s surprise football sojourn to the Central Coast, but local kids could watch his Gosford debut for as little as $8.

Olympic legend Usain Bolt could make his Central Coast Mariners debut in a friendly at the end of August.

NEARLY 200 million people worldwide have followed Usain Bolt’s surprise football sojourn to the Central Coast, but local kids could watch his Gosford debut for as little as $8.

The Jamaican sprint king’s first match has been slated for the end of this month, with the Mariners understood to have pencilled it in to coincide with a pre-season trial at Central Coast Stadium.

On August 31, a fortnight after Bolt’s scheduled arrival in Australia next Saturday, Mike Mulvey’s A-League squad will face a Central Coast Select team comprised of players from various local clubs.

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If deemed fit by the club’s strength and conditioning staff, the eight-time Olympic gold medallist is set to line up alongside Matt Simon and company.

And whether it’s a lengthy run or a token cameo, the appearance could very well put at risk the boutique venue’s record attendance of 20,060.

Olympic legend Usain Bolt could make his Central Coast Mariners debut in a friendly at the end of August.

Mariners members and all players from local clubs have already been sent an offer for juniors tickets from $8 and adult passes from $15.

Those prices will not be increased even if Bolt is confirmed as a participant.

One-hundred tickets were sold within the first few hours — more than the club would usually sell this far out from A-league game let alone a pre-season fixture, which generally attracts less than 2000 to Pluim Park.

The friendly will give the 100m and 200m record-holder a date to work towards when he starts training with the team, likely on August 21.

For the man himself, those first 11 days will be a learning curve. For the coaching staff, a first chance to assess their celebrity triallist’s potential.

And while all that plays out on the pitch, the Mariners hierarchy will be in the office furiously fielding phone calls from would-be sponsors clamouring for a piece of the absurd exposure that accompanies the world’s fastest man wherever he turns.

Usain Bolt’s potential signing has generated huge publicity for the Central Coast Mariners.

The most substantial return will undoubtedly come from bigger commercial entities outside the region, with chief executive Shaun Mielekamp already foreshadowing potential partnerships with development companies as he collaborates with Bolt’s management to maximise his existing sponsors.

But the local offers are coming thick and fast too, and feature the ambitious along with the downright eccentric.

Terrigal-based Jamaican bar Mumbo Jumbo’s is hoping to cater to Bolt’s notoriously fabulous hard-partying lifestyle by hosting his welcome party, while Gosford’s Pulse nightclub is offering its own greeting replete with complimentary Red Bull.

Real estate firms, meanwhile, are fighting to provide their flashiest pad. One bedding company is seeking to construct him a personalised bed.

A sock maker is even proposing to pay for the honour of being Bolt’s official sock supplier for the duration of his stay.

Usain Bolt is serious about trying to crack it as a footballer.

It’s all the flow-on effect of a story that’s now reached a total global audience of more than 195 million, according to independent media monitoring analysis conducted by the club.

It would have cost the Mariners more than $9 million to buy the same amount of media coverage, which has piqued the interest of punters everywhere from Singapore to Kenya.

For now, at least, images of Bolt will not be emblazoned on the Masterfoods sauce bottles, with the club’s much-loved community sponsor believed to be biding their time until he arrives.

Likewise, Mielekamp has indicated there’ll be no merchandise given Bolt is, from a footballing perspective, an uncontracted hopeful.

Such an approach did not surprise UTS associate professor of sport management Daryl Adair, who felt selling Bolt jerseys at this early stage “would smack of a marketing ploy and seem gimmicky”.

“If Bolt was signed on the parameters would change,” Adair said.

“There may even be the prospect of cross promotion of Bolt merchandise and CCM merchandise.”

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