USAIN BOLT is "set to make his first start" for A-League side Central Coast Mariners on Oct. 12 in a preseason friendly at Campbelltown Stadium just a week before the season starts. Club Manager MIKE MULVEY confirmed that Bolt "should be fit to start against a team put together by the Macarthur South West United A-League bid consortium" (Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH, 9/26). ... Man City captain VINCENT KOMPANY "will donate all profits from his testimonial match to the city's homeless." This season marks the 32-year-old's 10th year at the club and "will culminate in a testimonial match" in Aug. '19. The Belgium int'l also set up "Tackle4MCR" with Greater Manchester Mayor ANDY BURNHAM "in a bid to inspire social change in the region" (BBC, 9/27). ... CRISTIANO RONALDO is "free to face" ManU in the Champions League next month after UEFA's Control, Ethics & Disciplinary Board decided not to increase his ban. The Juventus forward incurred an automatic one-match suspension when he was sent off for "apparently" pulling defender JEISON MURILLO's hair during his side's 2-0 Group H victory in Valencia on Sept. 19 (London TELEGRAPH, 9/27). ... National Rugby League side Sydney Roosters player ELONI VUNAKECE was "forced into premature retirement after suffering 10 suspected concussions in the space of a year." Vunakece "copped the latest head knock" while playing for the Roosters’ feeder club, Wyong, in its finals loss to Canterbury. He predicts he has been concussed "about 15 times over the course of his footballing life, dating back to when he began playing as a child" (THE AGE, 9/27). ... EuroLeague CEO JORDI BERTOMEU pardoned Greek basketball club Panathinaikos and its owner, DIMITRIS GIANNAKOPOULOS, "canceling the fines issued during a conflict between the league and club in April" (MUNDO DEPORTIVO, 9/27).
