Discover this Sunday Division Team With Nearly Two Thousand English Top Division Appearances

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

How do you boost a outstanding veteran side that have won back-to-back titles, including a league-cup double boasting 30 wins from thirty-two matches?

Bring in a raft of ex- pro players who have competed at the top level of club and global football as you pursue more silverware.

A Manchester side boasts an non-professional veterans team with 9 ex- Premier League players in their current roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, 325 Global Caps

The team Veterans Over-35s are situated in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire-based Veterans League Premier Tier.

Their lineup this season includes nine ex- top-flight footballers, with a combined nearly 1,800 top-flight games.

This high-profile roster also boasts over 220 top division goals and 325 global caps.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who scored 37 goals in 117 games for his former club after joining them for nine million pounds from German league side SC Freiburg in 2012.

He had his first appearance for the team in their most recent home-field game against reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six goals in a six-two victory - featuring a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

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

Collectively, the ex- top-flight footballers have claimed 15 major trophies and transferred for total transfer sums of approximately £123 million.

Well-Known Names and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned 6 Irish appearances, netting four goals

Ireland started playing for the side during pre-season this summer through close mate and current team teammate Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then asked other former professionals, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side game, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese striker Niasse, who netted twelve scores in sixty-five Premier League games for Everton and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut versus the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and use an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"My mate Stephen told me 'come and have a game, it's a laugh'," said the striker.

"After that he told me we were facing a side from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Blue shirts - I say this is wrong for me!

"When you still love the game and you feel you can still play, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose?

"Those people who turn up and see are happy and to make someone's day if they watch us playing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

So great is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, he made his first game at defender.

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

"I tell my centre-back 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to keep attacking.

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

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

Dreamlike' Feeling

Along with the forward's 6 scores on debut, Ireland has scored 8 in 3 appearances for the side, while George Boyd scored 5 on his debut match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, scored a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Top Tier with 3 victories from three and a goal difference of +19.

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

Figueroa has appeared at 2 global tournaments for his country, in addition to featuring in more than two hundred top-flight games.

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

"I think I was a bit starstruck facing him to be honest.

"Even Heskey got on and he's has over 60 English caps.

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

"We really haven't stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mum and brother on the way home.

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

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

We Will Still Take the Title'

The manager coaches the Collegiate veterans team, who won the Top Division championship the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went 1-0 up and had a

Christopher Huffman
Christopher Huffman

Elara is a novelist and writing coach passionate about helping others unlock their creative potential through practical guidance.