Introduce this Sunday Division Team With Over 1,800 Premier League Games

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

What can you boost a outstanding experienced squad that have secured consecutive titles, featuring a league-cup double boasting thirty wins from thirty-two matches?

Sign a group of former pro players that have performed at the top tier of club football and international football as you pursue further trophies.

One Manchester side boasts an non-professional vets team with nine ex- top-flight footballers in their present lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Appearances

Wythenshawe Veterans Over 35s are based in southern the city and compete in the Cheshire Vets League Top Tier.

Their lineup this season includes 9 former Premier League players, with a collective 1,801 elite appearances.

This elite team also contains 222 Premier League scores and over 320 global caps.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who netted thirty-seven goals in 117 appearances for Newcastle United after moving to them for £9m from German league club Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for the team in their last home-field match against defending champions their rivals and scored every one of the six goals in a six-two victory - including a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's squad for this campaign also includes ex- professionals such as English and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former Premier League players have claimed 15 big trophies and transferred for total transfer fees of around £123 million.

Famous Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won six Irish caps, netting four goals

Ireland started playing for the side in pre-season this season through close friend and current team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited other ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side match, to join in.

Ex- Senegalese striker Niasse, who netted twelve goals in 65 top-flight matches for the Toffees and even now attends their home games, also made his first appearance versus the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and use an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

"A mate Stephen said 'come and play, it's a laugh'," commented Niasse.

"After that he informed me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Blue kits - I thought this is strange for me!

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

"Those spectators who turn up and see are happy 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 enjoy football, with organisation of course."

So great is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, he had his debut at defender.

"It's a bit unusual but then, I enjoy running and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he added.

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

"That running is what I'm looking for. It's good fun."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

'Surreal Scenario

In addition to the forward's 6 goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in 3 games for the side, while George Boyd hit five on his debut match and Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one match as a striker.

The team are top of the Premier Division with 3 wins from 3 and a GD of +19.

Paul Barrow, 38, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Wigan full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was.

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

"It was spreading like wildfire they had all these ex-Premier League stars," remarked Barrow.

"I felt I was a bit awestruck facing him to be honest.

"Also Emile [Heskey] got on and he's got over 60 England caps.

"We competed well for a solid 20 mins but then we had a player sent off and it was tough.

"We literally haven't stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mother and sibling on the journey home.

"They were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the match - it was like playing a group of regular guys.

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

We Will Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition vets team, who secured the Premier Division title last season, along with his co-manager.

"We went one-nil ahead and had a

George Wilkinson
George Wilkinson

Agricultural scientist specializing in food security and nutrition, with over 15 years of experience in biofortification projects across Africa and Asia.