Discover the Sunday Division Team Boasting Over 1,800 English Top Division Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for the team Vets during a 6-2 victory against Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (left to right) - one player, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How can you boost a outstanding veteran squad who have claimed consecutive championships, including a league-cup double boasting 30 victories from 32 games?

Recruit a collection of ex- professionals who have competed at the highest level of club football and international soccer as you pursue further trophies.

A Manchester side fields an amateur vets squad with nine ex- top-flight players in their present lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Caps

Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are based in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire Veterans League Top Tier.

The roster this season boasts nine ex- top-flight players, with a combined nearly 1,800 top-flight games.

The star-studded team also boasts 222 Premier League scores and over 320 global appearances.

The squad include Papiss Cisse, who notched 37 scores in 117 appearances for his former club after moving to them for £9m from German league club Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home match against reigning title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six goals in a six-two win - including a 32-minute opening period triple.

The roster for this season also features former professionals such as England and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- top-flight footballers have claimed 15 significant honors and moved for combined transfer fees of about £123m.

Household Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He won six Irish appearances, netting 4 scores

Ireland started playing for the side during pre-season this summer through close mate and current Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland player then invited additional ex-pros, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side game, to join in.

Former Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 scores in 65 top-flight matches for Everton and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut versus the opposition - who are located in the city and use an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
He played for Everton between 2016 and 2020

"A mate Stephen Ireland told me 'join and play, it's good fun'," commented Niasse.

"After that he told me we were playing a side from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Blue shirts - I say this is wrong for me!

"When you still enjoy the game and you feel you can still do it, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?

"Those spectators who turn up and see are pleased and to make a day if they watch us competing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the pleasure of us having a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

So great is the squad depth at the club, Niasse had his first game at full-back.

"That's a bit unusual but then, I enjoy sprinting and just move inside - I'm not staying back that much," he said.

"I tell my centre-back 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to keep attacking.

"The movement is what I'm looking for. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe

Unreal Feeling

Along with the forward's six goals on his first game, Ireland has scored 8 in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored 5 on his debut match and Lescott, a defender by trade, scored a hat-trick in one match up front.

The team are top of the Premier Division with 3 wins from 3 and a goal difference of +19.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who features on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Latics defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his young son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at two global tournaments for his country, in addition to featuring in over two hundred Premier League games.

"It was going round like wildfire they had all these ex-Premier League players," remarked the player.

"I think I was a bit starstruck playing against Figueroa to be honest.

"Also Heskey got on and he's has 60-odd England appearances.

"We competed well for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

"Our group literally have not ceased chatting about it - I was calling my mum and sibling on the journey home.

"They were all friendly, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a group of regular fellas.

"Now we can't wait for the return fixture."

We Will Still Win the League'

The manager coaches the Collegiate vets side, who secured the Top Division title last season, together with Paul Maguire.

"We went one-nil ahead and had a

Amy Romero
Amy Romero

A passionate gaming journalist with over a decade of experience covering industry trends and game development.