A planned new soccer league in Tokyo has such a narrow qualification window that even members of Japan’s World Cup squad would have to wait decades to become eligible.

The official league, which will open in spring, will be the first in Japan reserved for players aged 80 or older.

No name has been set for the league, but officials of the organizer, the Tokyo FA Senior football association, said they expect three teams at the start.

As Japan’s population ages, broader options are becoming available for seniors to stay active, including those who are sports-inclined.

Statistics show that elderly people have increased their participation in such programs, including team sports.

A practice session in mid-October held as part of preparations for the over-80 league showed that the matches may not necessarily be “friendly.”

The 41 elderly players at Komazawa Olympic Park in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward did not hold back in their encouragement—and criticism—of each other in the practice game.

“More quickly,” one player yelled at a teammate. “You are too slow on defense,” another shouted out.

Yellow card-level foul language was also heard on the field, which was the size of pitches used in the professional J.League.

Competition was fierce.

One player gasped for air after failing to catch up with a pass. Another kicked the air as he missed the ball.

Gold shorts worn by players showed that they were at least 80 years old. Purple shorts marked wearers in the age brackets of over 85 or over 90.

The players came from different backgrounds, including those who had dedicated their lives to the sport.

Mutsuhiko Nomura, 82, a former member of Japan’s national team, scored the most goals in the inaugural year of the now-defunct Japan Soccer League in 1965.

He did not appear winded after the practice session in October.

He was recently asked about the play of his “juniors” at the World Cup in Qatar. 

“They instill me with courage, passion and a competitive spirit, although I don’t have the same command of my body as I did before.”

Kim Myong Sik, 84, was a key part of the powerhouse “football club of Koreans in Japan,” a predecessor to today’s FC Korea team. He also coached the team at Tokyo Korean Senior High School.

About a year ago, Kim underwent rectal cancer surgery.

“What makes me happy more than anything else is that I have this opportunity to kick the ball,” he said.

Takao Yokoyama, 86, played on his university’s soccer team but stayed off the pitch when he worked for a company.

In his late 40s, at the invitation of former teammates, he took up the sport again.
He currently plays for the Parus Football Club, named after the scientific name for a bird, whose Japanese name, “shijukara,” is a homonym for “from 40.”

“I avoided overusing my back and legs when I was young,” Yokoyama said. “Perhaps that was the secret behind why I can do this for so long.”

Kozo Ishida, 82, never played soccer as a student, but he became enamored with the sport at age 46 after serving as a ball boy for his second son’s soccer club.

He was not content with just helping out.

“I was confident of my own strength, which I had built up by running marathons,” Ishida said.

Tokyo FA Senior officials said the trend of retirees and people with reduced working hours returning to soccer fields started about 20 years ago.

In the background was an increase in artificial-turf grounds that are weather-resistant and easier to manage.

Another big factor was the 2001 Sports Masters Japan tournament that gave soccer players aged 40 or older the chance to win a national championship.

The minimum age of the now annual event has been lowered to 35.

Tokyo FA Senior in 2002 set up a soccer league in the capital for those aged 50 or older. In response to requests, it created a separate league for those at least 60 in 2008 and another for players 70 and older in 2012.

The over-60 league now has 57 teams, up from 44 in fiscal 2018, while the over-70 league has 15 teams, up from 11.

A 92-year-old former racing car designer is the oldest on a list of 73 players who plan to sign up for the over-80 league.

They will start in three teams of blue, red and white.

AED USE, HEAT-STROKE RESPONSE

Japan Sports Agency surveys showed that 26.6 percent of people in their 70s said they were doing physical exercise at least five times a week in fiscal 2021, up from 18.7 percent in fiscal 2016.

For exercising at least twice a week, 61.5 percent of the septuagenarians were doing so in fiscal 2021, compared with 55.5 percent five years earlier.

Athletic events and leagues for those aged 80 or older already exist for swimming, track and field and table tennis.

In team sports, the Nippon Kanreki Baseball League (“kanreki” means 60th year of birth) has been organizing national championships for players 70 or older, using rubber balls instead of regulation balls. The league held its 30th national tournament in 2022.

The Japan Volleyball Association organized a national league for mixed eight-player teams of men aged at least 67 and women at least 62 for the first time in 2022.

The Japan Football Association has been holding national championships by decade of age from the 40s through 70s.

In fiscal 2021, 41,898 individuals aged 40 or older signed up as players for the JFA leagues, a prerequisite for participating in the national championships. That was about nine times the figure of 4,669 in fiscal 2000.

Illnesses and injuries are of major concern in the JFA. The health of octogenarian soccer players is overseen by those in the over-70 and over-75 leagues.

Masaru Kawasaki, a 76-year-old former standing committee member with Tokyo FA Senior who has been working to prepare the over-80 league, said 20 management members have taken lessons on using an automated external defibrillator.

Prospective players are required to fill out a health checkup table in advance, which doubles as an infection control measure against the novel coronavirus.

The managers also respond to any cases of heat stroke and decide whether training sessions should be suspended based on the weather.

“We often get into trouble with family members who are worried about the health of players,” Kawasaki said, adding that some players are showing signs of dementia.

Takayuki Inohana, an 83-year-old resident of Tama, western Tokyo, is one of the central figures in planning the new league.

“Camaraderie has grown among us, and we talk a lot, so it’s good for the health,” he said. “It gives me a superb sense of fulfillment.”