Discover this Sunday Division Squad Featuring 1,800 Premier League Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for Wythenshawe Veterans in a 6-2 triumph versus their opponents on October 19th (left to right) - one player, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you enhance a outstanding experienced squad that have secured back-to-back championships, featuring a double triumph with 30 victories from thirty-two games?

Recruit a raft of former professionals who have played at the highest level of club football and global football as you target additional silverware.

A Greater Manchester side has an amateur vets team with nine former Premier League players in their present lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, 325 Global Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are located in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Vets Division Top Tier.

Their roster this campaign features nine ex- top-flight footballers, with a collective nearly 1,800 elite games.

The elite squad also boasts 222 Premier League scores and 325 global appearances.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who scored 37 scores in 117 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for £9m from German league club SC Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home-field match against reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six scores in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's squad for this season also features former pros such as English and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- top-flight footballers have secured 15 big honors and transferred for combined transfer sums of around £123m.

Well-Known Figures and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned six Irish appearances, netting 4 goals

Ireland started turning out for the team during pre-season this season through close mate and present Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then invited additional ex-pros, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side match, to participate.

Former Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve scores in 65 top-flight matches for the Toffees and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and wear an Blue training kit as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse featured for the club from 2016 and 2020

"My friend Stephen said 'come and have a game, it's a laugh'," said the striker.

"Then he told me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Everton shirts - I say this is strange for me!

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

"The spectators who come and see are happy and to make a day if they see us playing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the joy of us getting somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

Such is the strength in depth at the club, Niasse had his first game at full-back.

"It's a little different but then, I enjoy sprinting and just move forward - I'm not staying back that much," he said.

"I warn my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to keep running.

"That movement is what I'm seeking. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team

'Surreal Feeling

In addition to the forward's 6 goals on debut, Ireland has netted 8 in 3 games for the side, while Boyd hit 5 on his first appearance and Lescott, a defender by trade, scored a triple in one game as a striker.

Wythenshawe are top of the Top Division with three victories from three and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, 38, who features on the flank for the opposition, came up against former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

He has appeared at two World Cups for his country, in addition to playing in more than 200 top-flight games.

"The news was going round like wildfire they had all these ex-Premier League players," said the player.

"I felt I was a bit starstruck facing him to be honest.

"Also Emile [Heskey] came on and he's has 60-odd English caps.

"Our side competed well for a solid 20 mins but then we had a man dismissed and it was tough.

"We really haven't ceased chatting about it - I was phoning my mother and sibling on the way home.

"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a bunch of normal guys.

"Now we can't wait for the second match."

We Will Still Win the Title'

The manager coaches the Collegiate veterans team, who secured the Top Tier title the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"We went one-nil up and had a

Susan Jones
Susan Jones

Elena is a seasoned tech writer and software engineer with a passion for emerging technologies and digital storytelling.