Kazuyoshi Miura, set to turn 59 next month and is recognized globally as football's most senior pro, has finalized a temporary transfer until June with Japanese third division side Fukushima United.
This move means Miura could play in the Japanese professional league - encompassing the highest tiers of Japanese football - for the first time in half a decade.
The former Japan striker, who began his professional journey with Brazilian side Santos in 1986, did not find the net in 69 minutes across seven appearances last season while on loan at fourth-tier club Atletico Suzuka.
"My passion for football hasn't changed, no matter how old I get," he said as he prepares for a forty-first campaign as a pro footballer.
"I'm very grateful to be given this opportunity. I vow I will play with everything I have to make a contribution. Let's make history together!"
Known as 'King Kazu' in Japan, this will be Miura's fourth loan since 2022 from J2 League side Yokohama FC.
The veteran, who has also featured in Australia, Italy, and Croatia, signed for the club in 2005 but has remained absent from the pitch for them since 2020.
He scored 55 goals in 89 games in an career for the national team that ended in 2000, two years after his notable omission from the squad for Japan's maiden FIFA World Cup campaign.
The footballer, who has expressed a desire for playing until he is 60, said he was ready to "embrace a fresh test" after being relegated last season to Japan's regional leagues.
Fukushima ended the season in tenth place in the twenty-club third division last season.
