Japanese professional soccer is expected to witness a 60-year-old player on the pitch early next year. The milestone will be set by Japanese soccer legend Kazuyoshi Miura, 59, who continues to break his own record as the sport's longest-serving active player with each passing day.
According to Sponichi Annex and other Japanese media on Tuesday, Atsushi Koyama, CEO of J3 League (third division) club Fukushima United, signaled his intention to keep Miura on the roster for the upcoming season. Speaking to reporters after the regular shareholders' meeting held on April 30, Koyama confirmed that Miura will continue to play for the club next season, effectively cementing plans to extend his loan deal.
Miura originally left his parent club, J2 League (second division) side Yokohama FC, to join Fukushima on a six-month loan starting this January. The J-League has overhauled its schedule starting from the 2026-2027 season, shifting from the traditional "spring-autumn" calendar (spring opening, autumn closing) to the European-style "autumn-spring" calendar (autumn opening, spring closing the following year). To fill the resulting gap in the first half of this year, the league is running a special event tournament called the "J-League Centennial Vision League."
In line with this schedule, Fukushima is engaged in tug-of-war negotiations with Yokohama FC to retain Miura through the end of the new season, which concludes in May next year. If the extension is finalized, Miura, born in February 1967, will mark his 60th birthday next year as an active professional player. Koyama said the occasion will be a one-of-a-kind festival that draws the attention of the entire global soccer community, raising expectations.
A former Japan national team striker who scored 55 goals in 89 international appearances, Miura left for Brazil to pursue soccer studies in 1982 at age 15. Since making his first-team debut at Brazilian powerhouse Santos in 1986, he has remained on the pitch for 40 years. On April 19, he was named to the starting lineup in a J3 League match against FC Gifu, setting a new official J-League record for oldest player to appear in a match at 59 years, 1 month and 24 days.
