• The 37-year-old retired from professional football in the summer • Club play in the fourth tier of the British ice hockey pyramid

This article is more than 11 months old

This article is more than 11 months old

The former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech has joined British ice hockey team Guildford Phoenix.

The 37-year-old, who retired from playing football in the summer and rejoined Chelsea in an off-field role, has signed for Guildford as a goaltender.

Cech said he played the sport as a youngster in the Czech Republic. “I am delighted to have the opportunity to play with the Phoenix to get the match experience,” Cech told the club’s website.

“I hope I can help this young team to achieve their goals for the season and try to win as many games as possible when I have the chance to play.

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“After 20 years of professional football this is going to be a wonderful experience for me to play the game I loved to watch and play as a kid.”

Phoenix, who were founded in 2017, are in the fourth tier of Britain’s ice hockey pyramid and have a home game at the Guildford Spectrum leisure complex against Swindon Wildcats II on Sunday.

The club’s head coach, Milos Melicherik, a former professional hockey player from Slovakia, said: “We are very excited to have Petr join the Phoenix team and we are looking forward to seeing him in action this weekend. He has improved a lot since I first saw him on the ice and I am excited to see him play.”

Cech won four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, the Champions League and the Europa League during his Chelsea career, with a further FA Cup success coming at Arsenal. He holds the record for the most clean sheets in the Premier League.