Discover the Sunday League Club With 1,800 English Top Division Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for the team Veterans during a 6-2 victory versus Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (from left to right) - one player, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you improve a stellar veteran team who have claimed back-to-back championships, including a double triumph boasting thirty wins from thirty-two matches?

Sign a raft of ex- pro players who have played at the top level of club and global football as you pursue further silverware.

A Manchester team boasts an non-professional vets team with nine ex- Premier League footballers in their active roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Scores, 325 International Caps

The team Vets Over-35s are located in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans Division Premier Tier.

The squad list this season features nine ex- top-flight players, with a total nearly 1,800 top-flight matches.

This elite roster also boasts over 220 Premier League scores and over 320 international caps.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who scored 37 scores in over 100 games for his former club after moving to them for nine million pounds from German league club Freiburg in January 2012.

He made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home match versus reigning title holders their rivals and scored every one of the six scores in a six-two win - including a 32-minute first-half triple.

Wythenshawe's squad for this campaign also features former professionals such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former top-flight players have won 15 significant honors and moved for total transfer sums of about £123 million.

Household Figures and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned six Republic of Ireland appearances, netting four goals

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the side in pre-season this summer through close friend and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland player then invited additional former professionals, who all compete in a midweek small-sided game, to join in.

Ex- Senegalese forward Niasse, who scored 12 scores in sixty-five Premier League games for Everton and even now attends their home games, also made his debut against Collegiate OB - who are based in the city and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"A mate Stephen Ireland said 'come and have a game, it's enjoyable'," commented the striker.

"After that he informed me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the shock I had when I noticed them sporting Blue kits - I say this is wrong for me!

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

"Those fans who turn up and see are happy and to give someone's day if they see us playing there and to pose us queries - it's more like the pleasure of us having a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

Such is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his first game at full-back.

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

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

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

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

Unreal Experience

Along with the forward's six goals on debut, Ireland has netted 8 in three appearances for the side, while Boyd scored five on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by trade, scored a hat-trick in one match up front.

Wythenshawe are top of the Top Tier with three wins from 3 and a GD of +19.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays on the wing for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was.

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

"The news was spreading like wildfire they had these ex-Premier League players," remarked the player.

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

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

"Our side held our own for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a man dismissed and it was tough.

"We really have not stopped talking about it - I was phoning my mum and sibling on the journey home.

"The opponents were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a bunch of normal fellas.

"Now we are eager for the return match."

We Will Still Win the League'

The manager manages the Collegiate vets side, who secured the Premier Tier title last season, together with Paul Maguire.

"We went 1-0 up and had a

Nicole Morris
Nicole Morris

A tech enthusiast and writer passionate about sharing insights on innovation and self-improvement.