Discover this Weekend Division Club Featuring Nearly Two Thousand Premier League Games

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

What do you boost a outstanding experienced side that have secured back-to-back championships, featuring a league-cup double boasting 30 wins from thirty-two games?

Recruit a raft of former professionals who have performed at the highest tier of club and international soccer as you pursue additional silverware.

A Greater Manchester club has an amateur vets team with 9 ex- top-flight players in their current lineup.

222 Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are located in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire Vets League Premier Tier.

Their roster this season boasts 9 ex- top-flight players, with a total over 1,800 Premier League matches.

The high-profile roster also boasts over 220 Premier League goals and 325 international appearances.

The squad include Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 goals in over 100 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for nine million pounds from German league side Freiburg in January 2012.

He had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home-field match against defending title holders their rivals and netted every one of the six goals in a 6-2 win - featuring a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

The roster for this campaign also includes former pros such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former Premier League footballers have claimed fifteen big honors and transferred for total transfer fees of approximately £123 million.

Household Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He won six Irish appearances, netting four goals

Stephen Ireland started playing for the team in pre-season this season through close mate and current team player Blake Norton, and the former Irish player then invited other ex-pros, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side match, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese striker Niasse, who scored 12 scores in sixty-five Premier League matches for the Toffees and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut against the opposition - who are based in the city and wear an Everton training kit as their uniform.

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

"My friend Stephen Ireland told me 'come and play, it's a laugh'," said the striker.

"Then he informed me we were playing a team from the city and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Everton kits - I thought this is strange for me!

"If you still love football and you feel you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to do?

"The fans who come and see are happy and to give someone's day if they watch us playing there and to pose us questions - it's more like the pleasure of us having somewhere we can play, with structure of course."

Such is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his first game at defender.

"It's a bit unusual but then, I enjoy running and just go forward - I'm not staying back that much," he added.

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team

Dreamlike' Scenario

Along with the forward's six goals on his first game, Ireland has netted 8 in three games for the side, while George Boyd hit five on his debut appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one game as a striker.

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

Paul Barrow, 38, who features on the wing for the opposition, faced ex- Latics defender Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young boy who Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in addition to playing in more than 200 Premier League games.

"It was spreading like a rumor they had all these former top-flight players," said the player.

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

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

"We held our own for a good twenty minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"Our group really haven't stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mum and sibling on the journey home.

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

"Now we are eager for the return match."

'We'll Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition vets team, who won the Premier Tier title last season, together with his co-manager.

"We scored 1-0 up and had a

Anna Welch
Anna Welch

Mikael Voss is a passionate gaming journalist with over a decade of experience covering esports and indie game development.