Discover this Sunday League Club Featuring Over 1,800 English Top Division Matches

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

What can you boost a excellent veteran side that have secured consecutive championships, featuring a double triumph boasting thirty victories from 32 matches?

Sign a raft of former professionals that have played at the elite tier of club and global football as you aim for more trophies.

A Greater Manchester side fields an amateur vets team with nine ex- top-flight footballers in their active lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Caps

The team Veterans Over 35s are situated in south the city and play in the Cheshire Veterans Division Premier Division.

The squad list this campaign includes 9 ex- top-flight players, with a combined 1,801 Premier League games.

This elite team also boasts 222 top division goals and 325 international appearances.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who notched thirty-seven scores in over 100 appearances for his former club after moving to them for £9m from German league club Freiburg in 2012.

He made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field match against defending title holders their rivals and netted every one of the six goals in a six-two victory - including a 32-minute opening period triple.

The team for this season also features former professionals such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- top-flight footballers have claimed fifteen big trophies and moved for combined transfer sums of approximately £123 million.

Well-Known Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned six Irish appearances, netting four goals

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the team in preseason this summer through close friend and current team teammate Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then invited other former professionals, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side game, to participate.

Former Senegalese forward Niasse, who scored 12 goals in 65 Premier League games for Everton and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and use an Blue training kit as their uniform.

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

"My mate Stephen Ireland told me 'join and have a game, it's good fun'," said the striker.

"After that he informed me we were facing a team from Liverpool and the shock I had when I saw them wearing Blue kits - I say this is wrong for me!

"When you still enjoy football and you know you can still play, anywhere you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"The fans who turn up and see are pleased and to make a moment if they see us competing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us getting a place we can play, with structure of course."

Such is the squad depth at the club, he made his debut at defender.

"That's a bit different but then, I enjoy sprinting and just move forward - I'm not defending that much," he said.

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team

Unreal Experience

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

Wythenshawe are top of the Top Tier with 3 wins from three and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against former Latics defender Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in as well as featuring in over two hundred top-flight games.

"The news was spreading like a rumor they had these former top-flight stars," said Barrow.

"I think I was a little starstruck facing Figueroa to be honest.

"Even Heskey came on and he's has over 60 England appearances.

"We held our own for a good twenty mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was hard.

"Our group really have not ceased talking about it - I was phoning my mum and sibling on the way home.

"They were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a group of regular guys.

"Now we are eager for the second match."

'We'll Still Win the Title'

The manager manages the Collegiate vets team, who won the Top Tier championship last season, together with Paul Maguire.

"We scored 1-0 ahead and had a

Andrea Preston
Andrea Preston

A digital strategist with over a decade of experience in web development and UX design, passionate about creating user-centric online experiences.