Mutsuhiko Nomura’s soccer career has spanned 18 World Cups, or 70 years, to be exact. Now the silver-maned former Japanese national team player is a member of the brand-new over-80 division of ...

While America excels in sports like baseball, basketball, and athletics, soccer has often struggled to gain the same level of attention, despite significant efforts to grow the game domestically.

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 ...