Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona will arrive in Japan on Friday for a weeklong visit to watch the World Cup final in Yokohama on Sunday and participate in other events, diplomatic sources in Havana said Tuesday.
Maradona picked up his entry visa from the Japanese Embassy in Cuba on June 11, Japanese diplomatic sources said.
The Japanese government had initially turned down Maradona's visa application on grounds he was a convicted drug user, but reversed the decision and later approved his entry after the Argentine government said it would send the former soccer star to Japan as a tourism and sports envoy.