“Kazuyoshi Miura recently found the net in the Emperor’s Cup at the remarkable age of 59. Does that make him the oldest scorer in football history?” asks Terry Winter.
If we were selecting an all-time football trivia XI, King Kazu would be a strong contender. His name has featured in numerous questions about age over the years, and stories about his achievements offer encouragement to anyone struggling through middle age. On Saturday, Miura registered his first competitive goal in almost four years as Fukushima United defeated Iwaki Furukawa 7-0 in the Emperor’s Cup.
That strike allowed Miura to extend his record as the oldest scorer in professional football. Below are the oldest goalscorers we identified, although readers are welcome to send in any older examples.
59 years 149 days, Kazuyoshi Miura: Fukushima United 7-0 Iwaku Furukawa, Emperor’s Cup, 25 July 2026
51 years 5 days, Innocent Benza: Herentals College FC 1-2 Hwange Colliery, Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League, 25 May 2023
49 years 208 days, Billy Meredith: Brighton 1-5 Manchester City, FA Cup, 23 February 1924
49 years, 14 days, Stanley Matthews: Stoke City 2-2 Swansea City, FA Cup, 15 February 1964
Innocent Benza, genuinely known as IB9, scored when Herentals College FC suffered a 2-1 defeat against Hwange Colliery in the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League three years earlier. He is thought to be the oldest player to score in a top-tier competition. He may even have added a later goal, because he remained active last season and completed his 200th appearance for Herentals College FC.
Even so, Benza would need to continue for another two decades to claim the overall age record. In March 2020, Ezzeldin Bahader converted a penalty on his debut for 6th of October SC in Egypt’s third tier. At the time, he was an extraordinary 74 years and 125 days old. For the sake of Portugal’s prospects at future World Cups, it may be best not to tell Cristiano Ronaldo about that milestone.
The leading example in the women’s game appears to be Formiga, who scored for Brazil against Canada in November 2019 when she was 41 years and 249 days old. She retired shortly afterwards, ending a 26-year international career with 234 appearances.
Following Andy Burnham’s replacement of Keir Starmer as Labour leader, the UK now has a prime minister who supports Everton. Several years earlier, he joined Daniel Harris on a podcast to talk about the 1995 FA Cup final.
We compiled a list of prime ministers who have openly identified with a football club or demonstrated their loyalty in another way. Our initial findings suggest that support is evenly distributed, with no club linked to more than one prime minister.
Boris Johnson once claimed that he backed “all London teams”, but we have not assigned any club from the capital to him. Before the second world war, prime ministers rarely discussed football in public, so the list begins in 1945. Readers who can provide further names, or identify a club supported by multiple national leaders, are invited to get in touch.
Andy Burnham (2026-) Everton
Keir Starmer (2024-2026) Arsenal
Rishi Sunak (2022-2024) Southampton
Liz Truss (2022) Norwich City
David Cameron (2010-2016) Aston Villa (and certainly not West Ham)
Gordon Brown (2007-2010) Raith Rovers
Tony Blair (1997-2007) Newcastle United
John Major (1990-1997) Chelsea
Edward Heath (1970-1974) Burnley
Harold Wilson (1964-1970 and 1974-1976) Huddersfield Town
Clement Attlee (1945-1951) Fleet Town (largely because he once played for the club)
Clubs beginning with B and W
“In alphabetical order, Tottenham Hotspur sit last among this season’s Premier League clubs,” observes Robert Johansson-Mars. “That seems unusual because there are normally several names after them, such as West Ham, West Brom, Watford, Wolves, Wigan or Wimbledon. When did the Premier League, or the old First Division, last have no club beginning with W? More surprisingly, has the top division ever had no team whose name starts with B?”
The answer may surprise you, Robert: seasons without a B-club in England’s top division are not especially rare. The most recent Premier League example came a little over a decade ago. Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers went down in 2011-12, while Burnley did not return until 2014-15. If AFC Bournemouth is filed under A rather than B, the same was also true in 2015-16 while Burnley moved between divisions. Those are the only such cases in the Premier League era, although the final six seasons of the former Division One also lacked a B-team after Birmingham City’s relegation in 1985-86.
The response to the first question depends on how strictly club names are interpreted. This will be the first season in which the men’s English top flight contains no current team beginning with W. There is, however, a historical period when the division’s only W-club later adopted a different name. From 1906 to 1911, Woolwich Arsenal represented the letter W in the top tier.
This situation has occurred more often in women’s football. The top division featured no W-clubs between Watford’s 2009-10 season and West Ham’s arrival in 2018-19.
From the archive
“Other than Newcastle United, how many clubs with United in their title were genuinely created by two teams joining together?” asked Keith Gilroy in 2011.
As might be expected, Newcastle are not the only United to emerge from a merger. In their case, Newcastle West End combined with Newcastle East End. However, there are fewer genuine examples in the Football League than the name might suggest. Many clubs simply selected United as a title. Lincoln Amateurs, for instance, had to rename themselves after they started paying players during the 1950s. Because Lincoln City was already in use, members voted for United, which narrowly defeated Rangers as the preferred suffix.
Several well-known Uniteds were not formed through literal unification. Sheffield grew out of Sheffield United Cricket Club; Leeds appeared after Leeds City FC folded in 1919; Manchester previously competed as Newton Heath LYR FC; and West Ham began as Thames Ironworks. Many other examples exist, but the following clubs in the football pyramid truly resulted from mergers:
Scunthorpe United: The club’s website states, somewhat mysteriously, that “in 1899 Brumby Hall joined forces with another team to call themselves Scunthorpe United”. The identity of that second side remains uncertain. To make the United name even more appropriate, the new club merged with nearby Lindsey United in 1910.
Hereford United: The club’s account explains that Hereford once had four prominent amateur teams. Local officials believed they could sustain a stronger standard of football by combining them. Hereford City and Hereford Thistle chose to stay independent, but St Martins and RAOC of Rotherwas agreed to unite. Hereford United was consequently established in 1924, with Dr EW Maples serving as chairman.
Torquay United: This story is rather complicated. The original Torquay United joined Ellacombe in 1910 and, despite the merger, adopted the name Torquay Town. The club moved into Ellacombe’s Plainmoor ground, which it shared with Babbacombe FC. The two sides then combined in 1921, restoring the Torquay United name.
Maidenhead United: Maidenhead Norfolkians, owners of one of football’s more memorable names, merged with Maidenhead FC in 1904. The resulting side was initially called Maidenhead Town before changing to United in 1920.
Sutton United: The club was established in March 1898 when two notable junior teams, Sutton Association and Sutton Guild Rovers, combined.
Ebbsfleet United: This is a United created from two other Uniteds. Gravesend United and Northfleet United came together as Gravesend & Northfleet FC in 1946, before the club adopted the name Ebbsfleet United in May 2007.
Hayes and Yeading United: Among the more recently created Uniteds, the club was established in May 2007 when Hayes merged with Yeading.
Chesham United: When Chesham Town combined with their neighbours in 1917, football lost the wonderfully named Chesham Generals. The resulting United side is now performing strongly in the Zamaretto Premier.
Aylesbury United: The former Conference club “was established in 1897 when three local teams, Night School FC, The Printing Works and Aylesbury Town, agreed to combine”.
Football questions and curiosities
Can you provide an answer?
“Malachi Fagan-Walcott ended last season playing for York City against Rochdale in the National League. His first competitive appearance of the 2026-27 campaign came for Hearts against Sturm Graz in a Champions League qualifier. Has any footballer experienced a greater rise in competitive standard between two successive club appearances?” asks Tom Reed.
“Sean Murdoch officiated Sunday’s Scottish League Cup fixture between St Mirren and Dunfermline. Murdoch formerly played as a goalkeeper for Dunfermline. Are there other cases of a retired player refereeing a match involving one of his previous clubs?” asks Ian Golightly.
“My team, Kilmarnock, have succeeded in only four of their 21 penalty shootouts, giving them a win rate of 19%,” writes Andy Kerr. “Does any professional club have an even poorer record?”
“After looking at the image of Omar Sivori in last week’s football questions, I noticed that the referee behind him was wearing the traditional all-black uniform. Before officials began using a wider range of colours, did clashes with teams such as Notts County or Newcastle ever create difficulties during matches?” wonders Paul Huby.
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