Meet the Sunday League Squad Boasting Nearly Two Thousand Premier League Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets in a 6-2 triumph 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 boost a outstanding experienced team who have claimed back-to-back championships, including a double triumph with thirty wins from 32 games?

Recruit a group of ex- professionals who have played at the elite tier of club football and international football as you target more trophies.

One Manchester club boasts an non-professional veterans squad with nine ex- top-flight players in their current roster.

222 Top Division Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Appearances

The team Veterans Over-35s are based in south the city and compete in the Cheshire Veterans League Top Division.

The squad list this campaign features nine ex- Premier League footballers, with a total 1,801 elite appearances.

This star-studded roster also contains over 220 Premier League scores and 325 global caps.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who notched thirty-seven scores in over 100 appearances for his former club after signing for them for £9m from German league side SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home match versus reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six goals in a 6-2 win - featuring a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's team for this campaign also includes ex- professionals such as England and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- top-flight footballers have secured 15 major trophies and moved for total transfer fees of about £123m.

Well-Known Names and International Players

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

Ireland started turning out for the team during preseason this season through good mate and current team teammate Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked other ex-pros, who all play in a weekly small-sided game, to participate.

Former Senegal forward Niasse, who scored twelve goals in sixty-five top-flight matches for Everton and still attends their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

"My mate Stephen told me 'come and have a game, it's a laugh'," commented the striker.

"Then he told me we were facing a team from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them wearing Blue kits - I say this is wrong for me!

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

Such is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his debut at defender.

"That's a little different but then, I love running and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he said.

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

"The running is what I'm seeking. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

Dreamlike' Scenario

In addition to the forward's 6 goals on debut, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored five on his first match and Lescott, a defender by position, notched a triple in one match as a striker.

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

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays on the wing for the opposition, came up against former Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young boy who Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at 2 World Cups for his country, in as well as featuring in more than two hundred Premier League games.

"It was spreading like a rumor they had these former top-flight stars," remarked Barrow.

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

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

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

"Our group really have not stopped talking about it - I was phoning my mother and sibling on the way home.

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

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

We Will Still Win the League'

The manager manages the Collegiate vets side, who secured the Premier Tier title last season, together with his co-manager.

"Our team went one-nil up and had a

Rebecca Duke
Rebecca Duke

A blockchain analyst with over 8 years in crypto investments, specializing in staking protocols and DeFi strategies across European markets.