Kazuyoshi Miura joins J3 club Fukushima United for the 2026 season

Kazuyoshi Miura, the veteran Japanese striker, moved to Fukushima United, a club in the third tier of Japanese football (J3), for the 2026 season. The move came at the start of the year and kept him playing professionally at an age when almost all footballers have long retired.

Miura was born in February 1967 and turned 59 during the 2026 season. He began his career in Brazil in the 1980s, returned to Japan and became one of the early stars of the J.League, which launched in 1993. He later played abroad, including in Italy, Croatia and Australia, and represented the Japan national team.

In recent years he continued to play for several clubs, including Yokohama FC, where he spent many seasons, and a spell in the lower divisions. His arrival in Fukushima gave the club national attention and meant he could keep adding to records for the oldest player to appear in professional matches in Japan.

The transfer mattered because it opened the way for further age records in the J.League, which later stories followed.