When you consider modern football, you may think the oldest football player in the world is around 40-years old. However, fans may be surprised to find the oldest football player in the world currently is Eez Eldin Bahder. At leat, he sort of is the oldest footballer.

Who is Eez Eldin Bahder? The footballer is a 74-year-old Egyptian who has recently signed a contract with Egyptian team 6th October. The creatively named team play in Egypt’s third-tier of football.

The signing of Bahder seems to be simply a marketing/promotions ploy by the club as he has no known footballing experience. Although at 74-years old, Bahder could have had a career in his early 20s. That would have been some 50 years ago!

In the wake of Bahder’s signing with 6th October, a deal in which the details have not been made public, the Egyptian Football Association has invited the Guinness Book of World Records to visit and watch Bahder play in a third-division match. The invitation would give Bahder the chance to become the officially recognised oldest professional football player in the world.

Bahder would be the oldest player, although questions should be asked over his footballing credentials. The man currently considered the oldest active player in football is Japan’s Kazuyoshi Miura. The forward players for Yokohama FC. Miura is 52-years old and still plays an active role for the club.

Miura has scored 221 goals in 754 matches. In 2019, he helped Yokohama FC earn promotion to the J1 League in Japan. Miura has been playing professionally since the age of 19 when he signed for Brazil’s Santos. His debut professional season came in 1986.

While Miura is technically the oldest football player in the world right now, Bahder could sneak in and nab the Guinness World Record. Whether the 74-year-old will do more than make just a cameo is anyone’s guess currently.