Meet the Sunday League Club With 1,800 Premier League Matches

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

How can you improve a outstanding veteran team that have secured consecutive titles, featuring a double triumph with 30 wins from 32 matches?

Recruit a raft of ex- pro players that have played at the elite level of club football and international soccer as you aim for more silverware.

One Manchester side has an amateur vets team with nine former top-flight players in their active lineup.

222 Premier League Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Appearances

Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are located in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire Vets League Top Tier.

The squad list this season boasts 9 former top-flight players, with a total nearly 1,800 Premier League games.

This elite roster also contains 222 top division goals and 325 global caps.

They include Papiss Cisse, who scored thirty-seven goals in over 100 games for his former club after joining them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club Freiburg in 2012.

He made his debut for the team in their most recent home match against reigning champions their rivals and netted all six goals in a 6-2 victory - featuring a half-hour first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's squad for this campaign also features ex- professionals such as England and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- top-flight footballers have won fifteen significant trophies and moved for combined transfer sums of around £123 million.

Famous Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He won six Republic of Ireland appearances, scoring 4 goals

Stephen Ireland began playing for the side in preseason this season through good friend and present Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then asked other former professionals, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side game, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who scored twelve goals in 65 top-flight matches for the Toffees and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"A friend Stephen Ireland said 'join and have a game, it's a laugh'," said Niasse.

"Then he told me we were facing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Everton shirts - I say this is wrong for me!

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

"Those people who turn up and see are pleased and to make a moment if they see us competing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the joy of us getting a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, he had his first game at defender.

"It's a bit different but then, I enjoy running and just move forward - I'm not defending that much," he said.

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

"The running is what I'm after. It's enjoyable."

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

'Surreal Scenario

In addition to the forward's 6 scores on his first game, Ireland has scored eight in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit five on his debut match and Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one game up front.

The team are top of the Premier Division with three wins from three and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for the opposition, came up against ex- Wigan full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young boy who Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at two World Cups for Honduras, in addition to featuring in more than two hundred top-flight matches.

"The news was spreading like wildfire they had these former top-flight players," remarked Barrow.

"I felt I was a bit awestruck playing against Figueroa to be honest.

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

"We competed well for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

"We really have not ceased chatting about it - I was calling my mother and brother on the way home.

"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a bunch of regular fellas.

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

We Will Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate vets side, who won the Top Tier title the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went 1-0 ahead and had a

Jennifer Yang
Jennifer Yang

An avid mountaineer and travel writer with over a decade of experience exploring remote trails and sharing insights on sustainable outdoor practices.