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

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for Wythenshawe Veterans in a 6-2 victory versus Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you boost a outstanding experienced side who have secured back-to-back titles, including a league-cup double with thirty wins from 32 games?

Sign a collection of ex- professionals that have performed at the highest tier of club football and global football as you aim for additional silverware.

A Manchester team has an non-professional veterans squad with 9 former top-flight players in their active roster.

222 Top Division Goals, 325 Global Appearances

The team Veterans Over-35s are located in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Vets League Top Tier.

The squad list this campaign includes 9 former Premier League players, with a total nearly 1,800 top-flight appearances.

This elite team also includes 222 top division scores and 325 international appearances.

They include one forward, who netted thirty-seven goals in over 100 games for his former club after joining them for £9m from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home game against reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six scores in a six-two victory - including a half-hour first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's roster for this campaign also features former pros such as English and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- Premier League players have claimed fifteen big honors and transferred for total transfer sums of about £123 million.

Famous Names and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He won 6 Irish caps, netting four scores

Ireland began playing for the team in pre-season this season through good mate and current team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then invited additional ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side match, to join in.

Former Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve goals in 65 Premier League games for the Toffees and still goes to their home games, also had his first appearance against Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Everton training kit as their uniform.

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

"A mate Stephen told me 'come and have a game, it's good fun'," said the striker.

"Then he told me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Blue kits - I say this is strange for me!

"When you still enjoy football and you feel you can still play, wherever you can play, what are you going to do?

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

So great is the squad depth at the club, he had his first game at defender.

"That's a bit different but then, I love running and just move forward - I'm not staying back that much," he added.

"I warn my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue attacking.

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

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

Dreamlike' Feeling

In addition to Cisse's six goals on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in three games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit 5 on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a triple in one match as a striker.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Top Division with 3 wins from three and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, 38, who features on the wing for the opposition, faced ex- Latics full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at two global tournaments for his country, in as well as playing in more than 200 top-flight matches.

"The news was spreading like wildfire they had these ex-Premier League players," remarked the player.

"I think I was a bit awestruck playing against him to be honest.

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

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

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

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

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

We Will Still Win the League'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition veterans team, who won the Premier Division championship the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"We scored one-nil up and had a

Alejandro Williams
Alejandro Williams

Elara is an interior designer and lifestyle writer with over a decade of experience, passionate about blending functionality with aesthetic appeal.