Meet the Sunday League Club With Over 1,800 English Top Division Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for the team Veterans during a 6-2 win versus their opponents on 19 October (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you enhance a stellar experienced squad that have secured back-to-back championships, featuring a league-cup double boasting 30 victories from 32 matches?

Sign a collection of ex- professionals who have played at the highest tier of club and global football as you target additional trophies.

A Manchester club has an amateur veterans team with 9 ex- Premier League players in their current lineup.

222 Top Division Scores, 325 Global Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are situated in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire-based Vets Division Top Division.

Their lineup this season features nine ex- top-flight footballers, with a collective 1,801 elite matches.

This high-profile team also boasts over 220 Premier League goals and 325 international caps.

The squad include Papiss Cisse, who notched thirty-seven scores in over 100 appearances for Newcastle United after moving to them for nine million pounds from German league side Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his debut for the team in their most recent home match against defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six scores in a six-two victory - featuring a 32-minute first-half triple.

The squad for this season also includes former professionals such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- top-flight footballers have claimed 15 significant honors and transferred for total transfer sums of around £123 million.

Household Names and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won six Irish appearances, netting four scores

Stephen Ireland started turning out for the team during pre-season this summer through good mate and current Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then asked other ex-pros, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side game, to join in.

Ex- Senegal striker Niasse, who scored 12 goals in sixty-five top-flight games for the Toffees and even now attends their home games, also had his first appearance against the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and use an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"My mate Stephen Ireland said 'join and have a game, it's enjoyable'," said Niasse.

"After that he told me we were playing a team from the city and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Everton shirts - I say this is wrong for me!

"If you still love the game and you know you can still do it, anywhere you can play, what are you going to choose?

"Those people who come and see are happy and to make someone's moment if they watch us playing there and to ask us questions - it's more like the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

So great is the squad depth at the club, Niasse had his debut at defender.

"That's a bit unusual but then, I love running and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he said.

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team

Dreamlike' Experience

In addition to Cisse's six goals on debut, Ireland has netted 8 in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored 5 on his debut match and Lescott, a centre-half by position, scored a triple in one game up front.

The team are leading of the Premier Tier with three wins from 3 and a goal difference of +19.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the wing for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Latics defender Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young son who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in as well as playing in more than 200 top-flight games.

"The news was going round like a rumor they had these former top-flight players," said Barrow.

"I felt I was a little awestruck playing against Figueroa to be honest.

"Even Emile [Heskey] came on and he's got 60-odd England caps.

"We held our own for a good twenty minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was hard.

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

"They were all friendly, shaking our hands after the match - it was like playing a bunch of normal fellas.

"Now we are eager for the second fixture."

We Will Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition vets team, who secured the Top Division title the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went 1-0 up and had a

Jade Jones
Jade Jones

A passionate traveler and storyteller, Elara shares her global journeys and cultural experiences to inspire others to explore the world.