Bolt to join training at Dortmund

Berlin (AFP) – Jamaican sprint superstar Usain Bolt, who has often said he dreams of becoming a professional footballer, will spend a few days training with Borussia Dortmund, the German club confirmed Sunday.

Britain’s The Guardian had quoted the nine-time Olympic champion as saying he had been in touch with the club’s coach to join training for a couple of days and to then “see what happens”.

“It’s not a joke, it’s not a marketing stunt,” the club’s CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke told Germany’s Kicker online on Sunday.

“It has been decided for some time,” he said, adding that the idea had been mentioned by sportswear maker Puma, a corporate partner of both the team and Bolt.

“Puma boss Bjoern Gulden, who is also a member of our supervisory board, told me weeks ago that Usain had asked if he could train with us,” Watzke said. 

“I said sure, no problem at all … We’re happy, it’s an honour for us.”

No date had been set yet for when Bolt would join the training, Watzke said.

He dismissed the idea of Bolt actually joining the team as a professional footballer, telling Kicker that “this is something we don’t need to talk about”.

Bolt has often stated his dream of playing football, preferably for Manchester United, and he told The Guardian again that joining the Premier League powerhouse indeed “would be epic”.