Introduce this Weekend Division Club With 1,800 Top-Flight Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Veterans during a 6-2 triumph against their opponents on 19 October (left to right) - one player, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you enhance a excellent veteran side that have claimed consecutive championships, including a league-cup double boasting 30 wins from 32 matches?

Bring in a collection of ex- pro players that have played at the top level of club and global soccer as you target additional silverware.

One Manchester club boasts an amateur vets squad with nine former top-flight players in their current lineup.

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

Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are based in southern the city and play in the Cheshire Vets League Top Division.

Their roster this season boasts 9 former top-flight footballers, with a combined 1,801 Premier League matches.

The star-studded team also includes 222 Premier League goals and over 320 international caps.

They include one forward, who netted thirty-seven scores in 117 appearances for his former club after moving to them for £9m from Bundesliga club Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his debut for the team in their most recent home-field game against defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six goals in a six-two win - including a half-hour first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's squad for this season also features former professionals such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull City 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.

Collectively, the ex- top-flight players have secured 15 big honors and transferred for total transfer fees of around £123m.

Famous Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He won 6 Republic of Ireland appearances, scoring four scores

Stephen Ireland began playing for the team during pre-season this season through good friend and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited additional ex-pros, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side game, to participate.

Ex- Senegal forward Niasse, who netted 12 goals in 65 top-flight matches for the Toffees and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance against Collegiate OB - who are based in the city and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"A mate Stephen said 'come and have a game, it's good fun'," commented Niasse.

"After that he informed me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Everton shirts - I say this is strange for me!

"If you still love the game and you feel you can still do it, wherever you can play, what are you going to do?

"Those fans who turn up and see are happy and to give someone's day if they see us competing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

Such is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse had his first game at full-back.

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

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

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

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

Unreal Experience

Along with Cisse's six scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in three games for the side, while Boyd hit 5 on his debut appearance and Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one game up front.

Wythenshawe are top of the Top Division with three wins from three and a GD of +19.

One opponent, 38, who features on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against former Wigan full-back Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at two World Cups for Honduras, in as well as featuring in more than two hundred Premier League games.

"The news was spreading like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League players," remarked the player.

"I felt I was a little starstruck playing against Figueroa to be honest.

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

"Our side held our own for a good 20 mins but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

"We really have not ceased talking about it - I was phoning my mother and sibling on the journey home.

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

"Now we are eager for the second match."

'We'll Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby coaches the Collegiate veterans team, who won the Premier Tier championship the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"Our team went 1-0 ahead and had a

Janice Graham
Janice Graham

A passionate gamer and tech enthusiast with over a decade of experience covering the gaming industry and emerging technologies.