Meet this Sunday Division Club With 1,800 Top-Flight Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Veterans in a 6-2 win versus Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How can you boost a stellar experienced side who have won back-to-back championships, featuring a double triumph with thirty wins from thirty-two matches?

Recruit a group of ex- professionals that have competed at the highest tier of club football and global soccer as you pursue additional honors.

A Manchester team has an non-professional veterans team with nine former Premier League players in their current squad.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Appearances

Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are based in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire Vets Division Premier Tier.

Their roster this campaign boasts 9 ex- top-flight footballers, with a combined 1,801 elite appearances.

This elite team also boasts 222 top division goals and 325 global appearances.

They include Papiss Cisse, who notched 37 scores in 117 games for his former club after joining them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club SC Freiburg in January 2012.

He made his first appearance for the team in their most recent home game versus reigning title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six scores in a 6-2 victory - featuring a 32-minute first-half triple.

The team for this season also includes ex- professionals such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- Premier League footballers have won fifteen major honors and moved for combined transfer sums of approximately £123m.

Household Figures and Global Players

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

Stephen Ireland started turning out for the side in preseason this summer through good friend and current Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the former Irish player then asked additional ex-pros, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side match, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve goals in 65 top-flight matches for Everton and still goes to their home games, also had his debut versus the opposition - who are located in the city and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"A friend Stephen said 'join and play, it's enjoyable'," said the striker.

"After that he informed me we were facing a side from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Blue shirts - I thought this is strange for me!

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

"The people who come and watch are pleased and to give someone's moment if they see us competing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the joy of us getting a place we can play, with structure of course."

Such is the bench strength at the club, Niasse made his debut at defender.

"That's a bit different but then, I enjoy sprinting and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he said.

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

Unreal Scenario

Along with the forward's six goals on debut, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in 3 appearances for the side, while Boyd hit five on his debut match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, scored a hat-trick in one game up front.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Premier Division with 3 victories from 3 and a goal difference of +19.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Latics full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was.

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

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

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

"Also Heskey got on and he's got 60-odd England caps.

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

"Our group really haven't ceased talking about it - I was phoning my mum and sibling on the journey home.

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

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

We Will Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition vets team, who secured the Premier Tier title last season, along with his co-manager.

"We went 1-0 ahead and had a

Danielle Thompson
Danielle Thompson

A seasoned casino analyst with over a decade of experience in the German gaming industry, specializing in slot reviews and player insights.