For Japan's ageing football players, 80 is the new 50

TOKYO – Mutsuhiko Nomura’s football career has spanned 18 World Cups, or 70 years, to be exact.

Now the former Japanese national team player is a member of the brand new over-80 division of Tokyo’s “Soccer For Life” (SFL) league, which played its first match in April.

The sprightly 83-year-old and his teammates are among a growing number of seniors pushing the boundaries of active living in Japan, one of the world’s fastest-greying societies.

“When I was a kid, men in their 50s and 60s were considered grandpas,” Nomura, already a member of several amateur teams, said after a practice match in February.

“And now, we’re all still at it in our 80s. It’s shocking.”

As Japan’s average lifespan inches up, people aged 65 and more form nearly a third of its population of 126 million, with life expectancy, now at 85, ranking among the world’s highest.

That has brought societal changes, too – about a fifth of those older than 70 are employed, and the government encourages pensioners to start collecting later, by holding out the promise of larger deferred payments.

“I think the formation of the 0-80 division is a reflection of what we’re seeing in Japanese society, where the elderly demographic can be active like this,” said Yutaka Ito, the secretary-general of the SFL league.

It was only two decades ago that Tokyo created a division for the over-60 age group. In 2012, the over-70 division followed, and five years later, the over-75 category. At that rate, over-80 was simply a matter of time.

If his more “mature” teammates are something to go by, Nomura may easily have another decade on the pitch – the oldest player, Shingo Shiozawa, is 93.

“If I hadn’t played soccer, I’d have been dead by now,” said the former designer of racing cars, who plays as a goalkeeper.

He credits football with motivating him to quit smoking and helping to speed up his recovery after treatment for spinal stenosis.

With an average age of 83½, however, stiff backs, creaky knees and laboured breathing were often on display as the players of the three SFL teams slogged through inaugural matches under a blazing sun last Wednesday.

A ball propelled forward by a player failed to reach his slow-moving teammate, while a few stumbled on the pitch.

An 89-year-old who ran out of breath asked to be substituted about 10 minutes in, unable to play the rest of the 15-minute half.

After the game, Nomura and his teammates toasted their prowess with cans of beer, in a ritual familiar to many younger players.

Despite decades of watching Nomura play football, his wife, Junko, says she is not concerned about injuries – only his high blood pressure, which she logs every day in a notebook, along with his activities and meals.

“He likes to eat meat, so I try to get him to eat vegetables,” she said.

“But I think soccer is the best thing for his health.”

His 48-year-old daughter, Yuriko, added: “I sometimes go to watch the seniors play. It makes me feel I should work hard.

“I really admire him. I hope to be like him when I’m older.” REUTERS