Soccer

Bolivian president, 55, will play with pro soccer team

LA PAZ, Bolivia — A Bolivian first-division soccer club has come up with a great marketing ploy: The Sports Boys team says it has signed on the country’s president, Evo Morales, to suit up and play about 20-30 minutes per match.

Evo MoralesReuters

Morales is an avid soccer player, frequently sparring with journalists, union leaders, diplomats and even other presidents on the field.

The president has not yet commented on the new gig, in which Sports Boys says he is to receive the minimum wage, or $213.

The 55-year-old president’s most famous soccer match, in 2007, was played on Bolivia’s highest peak to protest a ban on high-altitude game imposed by international soccer’s governing body, FIFA.

Sports Boys’ president, Mario Cronenbol, announced the deal Friday. The club ranks ninth among 12 teams in the standings with the league in playoffs.