Meet the Sunday League Team Boasting Over 1,800 English Top Division Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets in a 6-2 triumph against their opponents on October 19th (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you boost a stellar veteran squad who have secured back-to-back championships, featuring a double triumph boasting thirty wins from thirty-two matches?

Recruit a collection of ex- professionals that have performed at the highest level of club football and global football as you pursue additional honors.

One Greater Manchester team boasts an non-professional vets team with 9 former Premier League footballers in their current lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Caps

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

The squad list this season includes nine former Premier League footballers, with a total 1,801 elite matches.

This star-studded squad also boasts 222 Premier League scores and 325 global caps.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who notched thirty-seven scores in 117 appearances for his former club after signing for them for nine million pounds from German league club Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field match against reigning title holders their rivals and scored every one of the six scores in a 6-2 win - including a half-hour first-half triple.

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

Together, the former top-flight players have secured fifteen big honors and transferred for total transfer fees of about £123m.

Famous Figures and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned six Irish appearances, scoring 4 scores

Ireland began turning out for the team in pre-season this season through close friend and present Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then asked other ex-pros, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side match, to join in.

Former Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve scores in 65 top-flight matches for the Toffees and even now goes to their home games, also made his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and use an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse featured for Everton between 2016 and 2020

"My mate Stephen Ireland said 'join and play, it's enjoyable'," commented Niasse.

"Then he informed me we were playing a side from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Everton shirts - I thought this is wrong for me!

"If you still enjoy the game and you know you can still do it, anywhere you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"The spectators who turn up and see are happy and to give someone's day if they see us competing there and to ask us questions - it's more like the joy of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

So great is the bench strength at the club, he had his first game at defender.

"It's a bit different but then, I love sprinting and just move forward - I'm not staying back that much," he said.

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

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

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

'Surreal Scenario

In addition to Cisse's 6 goals on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored five on his first match and Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

The team are leading of the Top Tier with 3 victories from 3 and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against former Wigan full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in addition to featuring in over 200 top-flight matches.

"The news was spreading like a rumor they had all these former top-flight players," said Barrow.

"I felt I was a little starstruck playing against him to be honest.

"Even Heskey got on and he's got 60-odd English caps.

"Our side held our own for a good twenty mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was hard.

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

"The opponents were all friendly, shaking our hands after the match - it was like playing a group of normal fellas.

"Now we are eager for the second fixture."

We Will Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby coaches the opposition veterans team, who secured the Top Division title the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"We went one-nil ahead and had a

Mr. Alexander Smith
Mr. Alexander Smith

A tech journalist and gaming enthusiast with over a decade of experience covering industry innovations and digital culture.