Meet the Sunday League Team Boasting Over 1,800 Top-Flight Matches

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

How do you enhance a stellar veteran squad who have secured consecutive titles, featuring a double triumph with 30 wins from thirty-two games?

Bring in a collection of ex- pro players who have competed at the top level of club football and international football as you pursue more silverware.

A Manchester side has an amateur vets squad with nine former Premier League players in their active lineup.

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

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

The squad list this season includes 9 ex- Premier League players, with a total nearly 1,800 top-flight matches.

This star-studded squad also includes over 220 top division scores and 325 international appearances.

The squad include Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 goals in over 100 appearances for his former club after joining them for nine million pounds from German league club SC Freiburg in January 2012.

He made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home game against reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six scores in a 6-2 victory - featuring a half-hour first-half triple.

The team for this season also features former professionals such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- Premier League footballers have claimed fifteen big honors and transferred for combined transfer fees of around £123 million.

Household Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won six Irish caps, scoring four goals

Ireland began turning out for the side in pre-season this summer through good friend and present team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland player then asked other ex-pros, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side game, to join in.

Ex- Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve scores in 65 Premier League games for Everton and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut against Collegiate OB - who are located in Liverpool and use an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

"A mate Stephen told me 'come and play, it's a laugh'," commented Niasse.

"Then he informed me we were facing a team from Liverpool and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Everton shirts - I say this is strange for me!

"When you still love football and you feel you can still do it, anywhere you can play, what are you going to choose?

"The spectators who come and watch are pleased and to make a moment if they watch us playing there and to pose us queries - it's more like the pleasure of us having a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

So great is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, he had his first game at full-back.

"That's a little unusual but then, I enjoy sprinting and just move forward - I'm not defending that much," he said.

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

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

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

'Surreal Feeling

Along with Cisse's 6 scores on his first game, Ireland has scored eight in three games for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit 5 on his debut appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a hat-trick in one match up front.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Premier Tier with 3 victories from 3 and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at two World Cups for his country, in addition to featuring in more than 200 top-flight matches.

"It was going round like wildfire they had all these former top-flight players," said Barrow.

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

"Even Heskey came on and he's got 60-odd England appearances.

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

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

"The opponents were all friendly, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a group of regular fellas.

"Now we are eager for the return match."

We Will Still Win the League'

The manager manages the Collegiate veterans team, who secured the Top Tier title last season, together with Paul Maguire.

"We went one-nil ahead and had a

Julie Daugherty
Julie Daugherty

A former professional poker player turned betting analyst, specializing in UK sports markets and responsible gambling practices.