| Yuya Kuriyama | |
| Birth Date: | 29 March 2000 |
| Birth Place: | Tokyo, Japan |
| Currentclub: | Manila Digger |
| Clubnumber: | 37 |
| Position: | Goalkeeper |
| Youthclubs1: | FC Proud |
| Youthclubs2: | Sundai Gakuen High School |
| College1: | Shizuoka Sangyo University |
| Collegeyears1: | 2018–2022 |
| Years1: | 2021–2023 |
| Clubs1: | APF Club |
| Caps1: | 14 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2023–2024 |
| Clubs2: | Thimphu City |
| Caps2: | 18 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2024– |
| Clubs3: | Manila Digger |
| Caps3: | 12 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Pcupdate: | 7:05, July 10, 2024 (UTC) |
is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Philippines Football League club Manila Digger.[1] [2]
Kuriyama was born in Tokyo and started playing football at a very young age. In his childhood, he played for a youth team named FC Proud[3] [4] while playing for Sundai Gakuen High School. Up until 2022, he also played college football for the team of Shizuoka Sangyo University.[5] While he was playing, he was diagnosed with cataracts and had to get surgery to remove them.[6]
With help from the non-profit organization Reale World, Kuriyama was able to play abroad in 2021 during his last year of college,[7] where he signed for Nepal's APF Club.[8] [9] In doing so, he became the first-ever foreign player to play for a Departmental team in the Nepal Super League.[10] At the end of the season, he won the Golden Glove Award at the Aaha! Gold Cup in 2022 after making a vital penalty save during the shootout that handed AFP the title.[11] He signed on for another season from 2022 to 2023.[12]
In 2023, he moved from Nepal to nearby Bhutan where he played for league heavyweights Thimphu City FC of the Bhutan Premier League.[13] At the season's end, though Thimphu didn't win the league,[14] [15] Kuriyama won the Golden Glove Award for Best Goalkeeper.[16] He left the team at the end of the season to pursue a career elsewhere.
Kuriyama moved to the Philippines in early 2024 to play for Manila Digger, a club that was joining the Philippines Football League for the 2024 season.[17] Kuriyama made his debut on the opening matchday at Digger narrowly scraped through against Philippine Army, 3–2.[18] He would go on to be the club's starting keeper that season, appearing more than 11 appearances during the brief season.[19] [20] [21]