Meet the Sunday League Club Featuring 1,800 English Top Division Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for Wythenshawe Veterans in a six-two victory against their opponents on 19 October (from left to right) - one player, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you boost a excellent veteran team that have won consecutive championships, featuring a double triumph boasting thirty victories from thirty-two games?

Recruit a collection of former professionals who have played at the elite level of club football and global football as you aim for additional silverware.

A Greater Manchester side fields an non-professional vets team with 9 ex- Premier League players in their current lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Caps

Wythenshawe Veterans Over 35s are situated in southern the city and compete in the Cheshire Veterans League Top Division.

The roster this campaign boasts nine former Premier League players, with a total nearly 1,800 elite appearances.

The elite roster also includes over 220 top division scores and over 320 international appearances.

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

Cisse had his first appearance for the team in their last home game versus reigning title holders Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six scores in a six-two win - including a 32-minute first-half triple.

Wythenshawe's roster for this campaign also features former pros such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the former top-flight footballers have secured fifteen major trophies and transferred for total transfer fees of around £123m.

Well-Known Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned 6 Republic of Ireland caps, netting four scores

Ireland started playing for the team in preseason this season through close friend and present Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the former Irish player then asked other former professionals, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side match, to participate.

Ex- Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve goals in 65 top-flight games for the Toffees and still attends their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut against the opposition - who are based in the city and use an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"A mate Stephen told me 'join and have a game, it's enjoyable'," said the striker.

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

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

"Those spectators who come and watch are happy and to make a day if they watch us competing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the pleasure of us getting a place we can play, with structure of course."

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

"It's a bit different but then, I enjoy sprinting and just move inside - 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.

"The running is what I'm looking for. It's good fun."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team

'Surreal Scenario

In addition to Cisse's six scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in 3 games for the side, while George Boyd hit 5 on his debut match and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a hat-trick in one game up front.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Premier Division with three wins from 3 and a GD of +19.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at two World Cups for Honduras, in addition to playing in over two hundred top-flight matches.

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

"I felt I was a little awestruck facing Figueroa to be honest.

"Even Heskey got on and he's has over 60 England caps.

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

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

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

"Now we can't wait for the second fixture."

'We'll Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby coaches the Collegiate veterans side, who secured the Top Division title last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went 1-0 ahead and had a

Dawn Miller
Dawn Miller

AI researcher and computer vision specialist with a passion for making complex topics accessible.