Playing three times a week, the 90-year-old British soccer senior is still the ‘Ninja’ of goals…

At the ripe age of 90, the oldest striker in Britain is still putting in goals for his neighborhood soccer team three times a week.

vivacious Mike Fisher, who plays amateur football and was given the moniker ‘Ninja’ by his teammates, averages three goals per game after starting his career 75 years ago in 1949.

The ex-RAF veteran began playing walking soccer for two local clubs at the age of 82, and he now plays every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Prior to that, the father of two played till he was in his 40s before deciding to take a break from the lovely game.

Rekindling his passion for the game in his eighties, he currently plays for Old Corinthians on a regular basis at Rushall Olympic’s non-league field in Walsall.

In late February, the prolific scorer celebrated his 90th birthday among his colleagues by scoring five goals in a match against opponents who were 40 years younger than him.

‘They all refer to me as Ninja,’ ‘They say I’m gone in the blink of an eye, just like that,’ Mike acknowledges. The ball is in the back of the net and I’m gone the moment you think you’ve collared me.

‘Anyone who you ask if they play with Mike Fisher won’t know who you’re talking about; however, if you ask them if they play with Ninja, they will know who you mean,’ he stated.

Around the nation, Sunday league soccer is renowned for its fierce competition and holds a special place in the hearts of its players.

Mike, a supporter of Luton Town, is undoubtedly ecstatic about his team’s 2023–2024 Premier League

debut after they were demoted in 1992 and spent a generation bouncing between the third, fourth, second, and even fifth divisions.

‘As long as I can, or as long as I’m still scoring goals consistently, I’ll continue to love football.’ Like a real striker, he stated, ‘That feeling of scoring goals never gets old—even if I am.’

‘I’ve played walking soccer three times a week for eight years, and I’ve lost count of how many goals I’ve scored,

but I generally get four or five a game. I have scored ten goals in a game a couple occasions,’ he remarked.

In 1954, Mike served as an RAF motor mechanic in Libya, Egypt, and Iraq. Following his marriage to Dorris, the couple relocated to Blackpool and raised two children there. In 2020, Dorris passed away.

‘Playing football provides me motivation to continue working out and staying in shape. I don’t want to spend my entire day on a chair.

I started playing when I was about 14 or 15 years old in Luton, and I was a forward, or wide forward as they called it back then,’ the man remarked.

‘After moving up to the Black Country, I played for a team called Yale. When I was about 33 or 34, I played with Wednesfield Civil Defence.’

‘We went to this community center and they asked what kind of thing I enjoyed doing, and that was not until I moved into my flat in Bloxwich,’ Mike added.

‘They brought up walking football when I mentioned that I used to play football. Even though I thought I’d be way too old at eighty-two, I just gave it a shot.’

‘I discovered I could still play when I started playing against people in their 50s and 60s. These days, if I’m needed, I merely wait to put it in the net beforehand.

I guess I’m kind of like Jimmy Greaves,’ he went on. ‘He was the quintessential poacher; he scored goals from close range and would hug the box.’

Mike Stevenson, 76, an Old Corinthians player, remarked of ‘Ninj’ just that ‘he comes, he scores.’‘At this amazing age, is there anyone else who is still playing regular football?’ He continued.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *