Discover the Weekend League Team Boasting 1,800 Top-Flight Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for Wythenshawe Vets in a six-two win against Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you boost a excellent experienced squad that have secured consecutive championships, including a double triumph boasting thirty wins from thirty-two games?

Bring in a raft of ex- professionals that have played at the top level of club football and international soccer as you pursue more silverware.

A Manchester club fields an amateur vets team with nine ex- top-flight footballers in their current lineup.

222 Top Division Scores, 325 Global Appearances

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

The roster this season features 9 ex- Premier League footballers, with a collective nearly 1,800 Premier League matches.

The high-profile squad also includes 222 Premier League scores and 325 international caps.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 scores in over 100 appearances for his former club after signing for them for £9m from German league side Freiburg in January 2012.

He made his first appearance for the team in their most recent home game against defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six scores in a six-two victory - featuring a half-hour opening period triple.

Wythenshawe's team for this campaign also includes former pros such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former Premier League players have claimed fifteen major trophies and moved for combined transfer fees of approximately £123 million.

Famous Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned 6 Republic of Ireland caps, scoring four goals

Stephen Ireland began playing for the side in preseason this summer through close friend and current team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked additional ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek small-sided game, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse, who scored twelve goals in sixty-five Premier League games for Everton and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also made his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"A mate Stephen said 'join and play, it's enjoyable'," commented Niasse.

"After that he told me we were playing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them sporting Blue kits - I thought this is wrong for me!

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

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

Such is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his debut at defender.

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

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe

'Surreal Scenario

In addition to the forward's 6 goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored five on his first appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by position, scored a triple in one game up front.

Wythenshawe are top of the Premier Division with three victories from three and a GD of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the wing for the opposition, faced ex- Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young boy who Heskey was.

He has appeared at two World Cups for his country, in addition to playing in more than two hundred Premier League games.

"The news was going round like wildfire they had all these former top-flight players," said Barrow.

"I felt I was a bit starstruck playing against him to be honest.

"Even Heskey got on and he's got 60-odd English appearances.

"Our side competed well for a solid 20 mins but then we had a man sent off and it was tough.

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

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

"Now we are eager for the second match."

'We'll Still Win the League'

The manager coaches the opposition veterans side, who secured the Top Tier title last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"We scored 1-0 up and had a

Anthony Green
Anthony Green

A passionate gamer and tech writer with over a decade of experience covering video games and emerging trends in interactive entertainment.