Australian club continues negotiations with Bolt

Sydney, Oct 23 :  The Australian football club where Usain Bolt has spent the past few months trialling have offered the former Olympic sprinter a contract, but say the partnership is unlikely to go ahead unless a third party sponsor can be found.

The Central Coast Mariners released a statement on Tuesday saying that the club is seeking external partners to contribute to the contract offer, and that without it the Jamaican appears unlikely to accept, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Without the financial contribution of an external third party, it is unlikely that Usain Bolt and the Central Coast Mariners will agree to terms," the statement said.

Bolt scored two goals in a recent trial game for the club, who say that the eight-time Olympic gold medallist is not likely to appear in the 2018-19 A-League season, which began last week.

"Usain has made great progression during his time on the Central Coast and we feel that he will improve further with more individual intensive training and competitive game time," the statement said.

"We are looking at ways to do this as the club does not have the luxury to be able to do this in the A-League."

Bolt will not be attending training sessions with the team this week until negotiations can be finalised.