Discover this Sunday Division Team Featuring 1,800 English Top Division Matches

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

What do you boost a stellar veteran squad that have won back-to-back championships, including a double triumph boasting thirty victories from 32 games?

Bring in a raft of former pro players that have competed at the highest tier of club and global football as you target more silverware.

One Greater Manchester team has an amateur vets team with nine ex- top-flight players in their present roster.

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

Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are located in southern the city and play in the Cheshire-based Vets League Top Division.

The lineup this campaign boasts 9 ex- top-flight footballers, with a total nearly 1,800 top-flight games.

This star-studded squad also includes over 220 Premier League goals and over 320 global appearances.

They feature one forward, who notched 37 scores in 117 games for his former club after moving to them for nine million pounds from German league side SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for the team in their last home-field game against defending champions their rivals and scored all six scores in a six-two victory - including a half-hour first-half hat-trick.

The squad for this season also features ex- professionals such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley winger George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- top-flight footballers have claimed 15 big honors and moved for combined transfer fees of around £123m.

Well-Known Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Irish caps, netting 4 goals

Ireland started turning out for the side during pre-season this season through close friend and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then invited other ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side game, to join in.

Former Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 goals in sixty-five top-flight matches for the Toffees and still attends their home games, also had his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Blue training kit as their uniform.

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

"A friend Stephen Ireland said 'join and have a game, it's a laugh'," commented the striker.

"Then he told me we were playing a team from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Everton kits - I say this is strange for me!

"If you still enjoy football and you feel you can still do it, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"Those fans who come and see are happy and to give someone's day if they watch us competing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the joy of us getting a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the squad depth at the club, he had his debut at full-back.

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

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

"The running is what I'm seeking. It's good fun."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe

'Surreal Feeling

In addition to Cisse's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd scored five on his debut appearance and Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one match up front.

The team are leading of the Top Tier with three victories from 3 and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the flank for the opposition, faced former Latics defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in addition to playing in over two hundred top-flight matches.

"The news was spreading like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League stars," said the player.

"I think I was a bit awestruck facing Figueroa to be honest.

"Even Heskey got on and he's got over 60 English caps.

"We competed well for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was tough.

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

"The opponents were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a bunch of regular fellas.

"Now we are eager for the return fixture."

We Will Still Win the Title'

The manager manages the opposition veterans side, who won the Premier Tier title last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored one-nil up and had a

Matthew Davidson
Matthew Davidson

A gaming technology specialist with over a decade of experience in slot machine design and industry trends.