Bolt worth the risk for desperate Mariners

MILLIONAIRE Mariners owner Mike Charlesworth has explained his willingness to gamble $3 million on Usain Bolt, saying: “Tell me the last Central Coast player to draw almost 10,000 fans.”

After jetting into Australia to watch Bolt’s hyped footballing debut on Friday night, Charlesworth said he was convinced the Olympic legend could not only win an ALeague contract, but propel the perennial battlers up among the likes of Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory.

While the Jamaican sprint king appeared off the pace in his hyped trial at Central Coast Stadium, where he played 21 minutes at left wing, the UK businessman walked away convinced his financial investment in Project Bolt would be cash well spent.

Apart from attracting almost 10,000 fans, Bolt’s megastar presence also resulted in the Mariners’ brand being beamed into 60 countries.

Even a tweet from the club’s social media account, which showed his first tentative touches against a team of Central Coast amateurs, has been viewed more than 1.2 million times.

Should the world’s fastest man eventually be offered a Mariners contract, Charlesworth will seek at least $900,000 from Football Federation Australia.

Yet it’s understood the British entrepreneur is also willing to fund up to 70 per cent of an expected $3 million deal himself.

Quizzed on his willingness to spend big on a footballing novice, Charlesworth said: “We’ve got to think outside the box here at the Mariners.

“I don’t want to be seen as a small club. I want to be competing with the clubs in Sydney, in Melbourne, the socalled bigger clubs.

“And for us to do that we have to think differently.

“Signing Usain Bolt, it’s innovative, it’s creative and we think he’s a real chance of improving our team in a creative way. Of course it’s got potential commercial advantages, too. That goes without saying. So we’re trying this.”