Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt came off the bench to kick-start his football career with Australia's central coast mariners in a pre-season friendly at gosford on friday, but later conceded that he will need more time to get up to speed.
The 32-year-old Jamaican, who is hoping to win a professional contract ahead of the Mariners' 2018-19 A-League campaign, was greeted by a crowd of nearly 10,000 as he stepped onto the pitch at the team's base north of Sydney in the 72nd minute against an amateur select side.
With the Mariners already leading 6-0, a relaxed Bolt pulled off a few step overs on the left wing and was inches away from connecting with a close-range tap-in.
There were a few heavy touches and the occasional loss of possession in the final few minutes, which showed Bolt still has plenty of work to do.
After the Mariners sealed a 6-1 victory, Bolt acknowledged that he will need at least four months to build up his fitness levels and perform at his peak on the football pitch.
"Probably four or five months ... to get fit two months. Four months [from now] I'll be playing like one of the guys," Bolt told Fox Sports.
"It was good, it was what I expected. I was a bit nervous, but as soon as I got on the field it went away.
"My fitness is much better. The more I play, listen and train the better I'll get."
Bolt's attempt to transform himself from global athletics superstar to professional football player has generated huge publicity for the struggling Mariners, who finished bottom of the 10-team A-league last season.
It has also drawn scepticism, with Adelaide United coach Marco Kurz questioning Bolt's open-ended trial, saying the A-League should focus on recruiting proven talents and improving Australian youngsters.
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
