Introduce the Weekend Division Team With Over 1,800 English Top Division Appearances

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

What do you enhance a outstanding veteran team that have won consecutive championships, including a double triumph boasting thirty wins from 32 matches?

Bring in a collection of former pro players that have played at the top level of club and international football as you aim for additional silverware.

A Manchester team boasts an amateur vets team with 9 ex- top-flight players in their present squad.

222 Premier League Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Caps

The team Veterans Over 35s are located in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire Veterans League Top Tier.

Their lineup this season features nine former top-flight footballers, with a total nearly 1,800 elite matches.

The star-studded team also contains over 220 Premier League goals and 325 international caps.

They include Papiss Cisse, who notched 37 goals in over 100 appearances for Newcastle United after signing for them for £9m from German league club SC Freiburg in 2012.

He made his first appearance for the team in their most recent home match versus reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six scores in a 6-2 victory - including a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's team for this season also includes ex- pros such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- Premier League players have won 15 major trophies and transferred for combined transfer fees of about £123 million.

Household Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned six Irish caps, scoring four scores

Stephen Ireland started turning out for the side in pre-season this summer through close mate and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then invited other ex-pros, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side match, to join in.

Former Senegal striker Niasse, who netted twelve scores in sixty-five Premier League games for the Toffees and still goes to their home games, also made his debut versus the opposition - who are based in the city and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"A mate Stephen said 'join and play, it's a laugh'," said the striker.

"Then he told me we were facing a team from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them wearing Blue kits - I thought this is strange for me!

"If you still love the game and you know you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to do?

"Those people who turn up and watch are pleased and to make someone's moment if they watch us playing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the joy of us having somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

Such is the squad depth at the club, he had his first game at defender.

"It's a bit different but then, I love sprinting and just go inside - 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 keep attacking.

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team

'Surreal Experience

In addition to the forward's six goals on his first game, Ireland has netted eight in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd scored five on his first appearance and Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a hat-trick in one game as a striker.

Wythenshawe are top of the Premier Tier with three wins from 3 and a GD of plus nineteen.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at two global tournaments for his country, in as well as featuring in over two hundred top-flight matches.

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

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

"Also Heskey came on and he's has over 60 English appearances.

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

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

"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a bunch of regular guys.

"Now we are eager for the return fixture."

'We'll Still Take the League'

The manager manages the Collegiate vets team, who won the Premier Division title last season, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored 1-0 ahead and had a

Jessica Horn
Jessica Horn

A tech enthusiast and digital strategist with over a decade of experience in software development and emerging technologies.