Meet the Sunday Division Club Boasting Over 1,800 Top-Flight Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for Wythenshawe Veterans during a 6-2 triumph versus their opponents on 19 October (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you enhance a outstanding veteran squad who have won consecutive titles, featuring a league-cup double with 30 wins from thirty-two games?

Sign a collection of former pro players who have performed at the highest tier of club and global football as you aim for further trophies.

A Manchester side fields an non-professional vets squad with 9 former top-flight players in their present squad.

222 Top Division Goals, 325 Global Caps

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

Their squad list this campaign features 9 former Premier League players, with a total 1,801 elite matches.

The star-studded team also boasts over 220 Premier League scores and 325 international caps.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who netted thirty-seven scores in 117 games for his former club after joining them for £9m from Bundesliga club SC Freiburg in 2012.

He had his first appearance for the team in their most recent home-field match versus reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six goals in a 6-2 victory - including a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

The roster for this campaign also includes former pros such as English and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- Premier League players have claimed 15 big trophies and moved for total transfer sums of approximately £123 million.

Well-Known Figures and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned 6 Republic of Ireland appearances, scoring 4 scores

Ireland began turning out for the team in preseason this summer through good friend and current team player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked other ex-pros, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side match, to join in.

Ex- Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve goals in sixty-five top-flight matches for the Toffees and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also made his first appearance against the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and use an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"A friend Stephen Ireland told me 'join and have a game, it's good fun'," commented the striker.

"Then he informed me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I saw them sporting Everton kits - I say this is wrong for me!

"When you still enjoy the game and you know you can still do it, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"Those people who turn up and watch are pleased and to make a moment if they watch us competing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us having a place we can play, with structure of course."

Such is the squad depth at the club, Niasse had his first game at defender.

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

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe

Unreal Scenario

In addition to Cisse's 6 goals on his first game, Ireland has scored eight in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit 5 on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, scored a hat-trick in one match up front.

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

Paul Barrow, 38, who features on the flank for the opposition, faced former Wigan defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his young boy who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in as well as playing in more than 200 top-flight games.

"The news was spreading like wildfire they had all these former top-flight stars," remarked Barrow.

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

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

"Our side competed well for a solid twenty mins but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

"Our group literally haven't ceased talking about it - I was phoning my mum and sibling on the way home.

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

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

'We'll Still Win the League'

Andy Kirby coaches the opposition veterans side, who secured the Premier Division title last season, together with his co-manager.

"We scored 1-0 up and had a

James Humphrey
James Humphrey

A tech enthusiast and software developer with over a decade of experience in AI and web technologies, passionate about sharing knowledge.