Introduce the Weekend League Squad Boasting 1,800 English Top Division Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The bench for the team Vets in a six-two win versus Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you enhance a stellar veteran team that have claimed consecutive titles, featuring a double triumph with 30 wins from 32 matches?

Recruit a group of ex- professionals that have played at the elite tier of club and international soccer as you pursue additional silverware.

One Greater Manchester side boasts an non-professional veterans squad with nine ex- Premier League footballers in their current squad.

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

The team Vets Over-35s are situated in southern the city and play in the Cheshire Vets League Premier Division.

The lineup this season includes 9 ex- top-flight players, with a collective 1,801 top-flight appearances.

The high-profile squad also includes over 220 Premier League scores and 325 international appearances.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who netted thirty-seven goals in over 100 games for his former club after joining them for £9m from Bundesliga club Freiburg in January 2012.

He made his first appearance for the team in their most recent home game versus defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six scores in a 6-2 victory - featuring a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

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

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

Well-Known Figures and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won six Irish caps, scoring 4 scores

Ireland began playing for the side in pre-season this summer through good friend and current Wythenshawe teammate 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 participate.

Former Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 goals in sixty-five Premier League matches for the Toffees and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance against the opposition - who are located in the city and wear an Blue training kit as their uniform.

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

"A friend Stephen said 'come and play, it's a laugh'," said the striker.

"Then he told me we were facing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them wearing Everton shirts - I thought this is strange for me!

"If you still love football and you feel you can still play, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"Those fans who turn up and see are pleased and to give someone's day if they watch us competing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the joy of us getting a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the strength in depth at the club, Niasse made his first game at defender.

"It's a bit unusual but then, I enjoy sprinting and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he added.

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

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

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

'Surreal Scenario

In addition to the forward's six goals on debut, Ireland has scored 8 in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored five on his debut match and Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one game up front.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Top Division with 3 wins from three and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, 38, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Latics full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at 2 World Cups for his country, in addition to featuring in more than two hundred top-flight games.

"The news was going round like wildfire they had these former top-flight stars," said the player.

"I felt I was a bit starstruck facing him to be honest.

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

"Our side competed well for a good 20 mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"Our group literally haven't stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mother and sibling on the way home.

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

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

'We'll Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate veterans side, who won the Premier Division title last season, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored 1-0 up and had a

Brianna Mooney
Brianna Mooney

A space science journalist with a background in astrophysics, passionate about making cosmic phenomena accessible to all readers.