Discover this Sunday League Club With Over 1,800 Premier League Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for the team Vets during a 6-2 win versus Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you boost a stellar experienced side that have won consecutive championships, including a league-cup double boasting thirty wins from 32 matches?

Sign a collection of former professionals that have competed at the top tier of club and international soccer as you pursue more trophies.

One Greater Manchester side boasts an amateur vets squad with 9 ex- Premier League footballers in their present lineup.

222 Premier League Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Caps

Wythenshawe Veterans Over 35s are located in southern the city and compete in the Cheshire Veterans Division Premier Tier.

The squad list this campaign features nine former top-flight players, with a collective over 1,800 elite matches.

The elite roster also boasts over 220 Premier League goals and 325 global caps.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who scored 37 goals in 117 appearances for Newcastle United after moving to them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga side Freiburg in January 2012.

He made his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field game versus defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six goals in a six-two victory - including a half-hour first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's team for this campaign also includes ex- professionals such as England and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- top-flight players have claimed fifteen major trophies and transferred for total transfer fees of approximately £123m.

Famous Figures and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned 6 Irish appearances, netting four goals

Ireland started turning out for the side during preseason this summer through close friend and present Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland player then invited additional ex-pros, who all play in a midweek small-sided game, to join in.

Ex- Senegalese forward Niasse, who netted 12 goals in 65 Premier League matches for Everton and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut against the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and use an Blue training kit as their strip.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse played for Everton from 2016 and 2020

"A friend Stephen said 'join and play, it's enjoyable'," said the striker.

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

"If you still love the game and you feel you can still play, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"The spectators who turn up and see are happy and to make a day if they watch us competing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the joy of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

Such is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his first game at full-back.

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

"I tell my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to keep attacking.

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

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 his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit five on his debut appearance and Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

The team are top of the Premier Tier with three victories from 3 and a GD of +19.

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Wigan full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Heskey was.

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

"It was going round like a rumor they had these former top-flight stars," remarked the player.

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

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

"We competed well for a good 20 mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"Our group literally haven't stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mum and sibling on the journey home.

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

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

'We'll Still Win the Title'

The manager manages the opposition vets team, who secured the Top Division title last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went 1-0 up and had a

James Hansen
James Hansen

A seasoned game designer with over a decade of experience in indie and AAA projects, specializing in narrative-driven gameplay.