Meet this Weekend Division Squad Featuring Over 1,800 Top-Flight Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for the team Vets in a six-two victory against their opponents on 19 October (from left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you improve a outstanding veteran team that have claimed consecutive titles, featuring a double triumph with 30 victories from thirty-two games?

Recruit a collection of ex- pro players who have competed at the highest tier of club and international soccer as you aim for further silverware.

One Greater Manchester side boasts an non-professional veterans team with nine ex- Premier League players in their present lineup.

222 Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Caps

Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are situated in south the city and play in the Cheshire Vets Division Premier Division.

Their squad list this season boasts nine former Premier League footballers, with a collective nearly 1,800 elite appearances.

This high-profile roster also includes 222 top division goals and 325 international appearances.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 goals in over 100 games for his former club after signing for them for nine million pounds from German league side SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home game against reigning title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six goals in a 6-2 win - featuring a 32-minute opening period triple.

The squad for this season also features ex- pros such as England and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former top-flight footballers have won 15 big honors and transferred for total transfer sums of around £123 million.

Household Names and International Players

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

Ireland began turning out for the side in preseason this summer through good mate and present team player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked additional former professionals, who all play in a weekly small-sided game, to participate.

Former Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 scores in sixty-five Premier League matches for the Toffees and even now goes to their home games, also made his debut versus the opposition - who are based in the city and use an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

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

"After that he told me we were facing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I saw them wearing Blue shirts - I say this is wrong for me!

"When you still love football and you know you can still do it, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose?

"The people who come and see are happy and to make a day if they watch us competing there and to pose us questions - it's more like the joy of us having a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse had his first game at defender.

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

"I tell my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to keep attacking.

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

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

Unreal Scenario

In addition to the forward's six scores on his first game, Ireland has netted 8 in three games for the side, while George Boyd hit 5 on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, scored a hat-trick in one match up front.

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

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, faced former Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his young son who Emile Heskey was.

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

"The news was spreading like wildfire they had all these former top-flight players," remarked the player.

"I think I was a little starstruck facing him to be honest.

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

"We competed well for a good 20 minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

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

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

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

We Will Still Take the Title'

Andy Kirby coaches the opposition vets side, who won the Premier Tier championship last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored 1-0 ahead and had a

Melanie Baker
Melanie Baker

Eleanor Vance is a London-based journalist with a decade of experience covering UK politics and cultural trends, passionate about storytelling that connects communities.