Discover this Sunday Division Team With 1,800 Top-Flight Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for Wythenshawe Veterans in a six-two triumph against Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you boost a excellent veteran squad who have claimed consecutive titles, featuring a league-cup double boasting 30 wins from thirty-two matches?

Recruit a collection of ex- pro players who have played at the highest tier of club football and international football as you pursue more honors.

A Manchester side boasts an amateur vets squad with 9 former top-flight footballers in their active squad.

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

Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are based in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire-based Vets Division Top Tier.

The lineup this campaign includes nine ex- Premier League footballers, with a combined over 1,800 elite appearances.

The elite team also includes over 220 top division scores and over 320 international appearances.

The squad feature one forward, who netted 37 goals in over 100 appearances for his former club after moving to them for £9m from Bundesliga side Freiburg in 2012.

He made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home-field game versus defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six goals in a 6-2 victory - featuring a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's squad for this season also includes ex- pros such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former top-flight footballers have won fifteen big honors and moved for total transfer fees of around £123m.

Household Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned 6 Irish appearances, scoring four scores

Ireland began turning out for the side during pre-season this season through close friend and current team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then invited additional former professionals, who all play in a midweek small-sided game, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve goals in 65 Premier League matches for the Toffees and even now attends their home games, also made his first appearance against the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

"A mate Stephen told me 'come and play, it's good fun'," said Niasse.

"After that he told me we were playing a team from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Everton shirts - I thought this is strange for me!

"When you still enjoy the game and you feel you can still play, anywhere you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"Those people who turn up and watch are pleased and to give a moment if they watch us playing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the joy of us having a place we can play, with organisation of course."

Such is the strength in depth at the club, he had his debut at defender.

"It's a little unusual but then, I enjoy sprinting and just go inside - I'm not defending that much," he said.

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

Unreal Scenario

In addition to Cisse's 6 scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in 3 appearances for the side, while George Boyd hit 5 on his debut appearance and Lescott, a defender by position, scored a hat-trick in one game as a striker.

Wythenshawe are top of the Top Division with three victories from 3 and a GD of +19.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the flank for the opposition, came up against ex- Latics defender Maynor 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 playing in more than two hundred top-flight matches.

"It was going round like wildfire they had these former top-flight stars," remarked Barrow.

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

"Even Heskey came on and he's has 60-odd English caps.

"Our side held our own for a solid 20 mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"We really have not stopped talking about it - I was calling my mum and brother on the journey home.

"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a group of normal fellas.

"Now we are eager for the return fixture."

We Will Still Win the League'

The manager coaches the Collegiate veterans side, who won the Premier Division title last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went 1-0 up and had a

Adam Cook
Adam Cook

Lena Visser is a creative enthusiast and writer who loves exploring art, design, and mindful living.