Meet this Sunday Division Squad Featuring 1,800 Top-Flight Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets during a 6-2 victory against their opponents on 19 October (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you boost a outstanding veteran side that have claimed back-to-back championships, including a double triumph with thirty wins from thirty-two games?

Sign a raft of former professionals who have competed at the top level of club football and global soccer as you pursue additional honors.

One Manchester club fields an amateur veterans team with 9 ex- Premier League players in their current lineup.

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

Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are located in south the city and compete in the Cheshire Vets League Premier Division.

The lineup this campaign boasts nine former top-flight footballers, with a total 1,801 elite appearances.

The high-profile team also includes over 220 Premier League scores and over 320 global appearances.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who notched thirty-seven goals in over 100 appearances for his former club after signing for them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home match against defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six goals in a six-two win - including a half-hour first-half triple.

Wythenshawe's squad for this season also includes ex- professionals such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- top-flight players have secured fifteen big trophies and moved for combined transfer sums of around £123 million.

Household Names and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He won six Republic of Ireland appearances, scoring 4 goals

Ireland began playing for the side during pre-season this season through good mate and present Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then asked other ex-pros, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side match, to join in.

Former Senegal forward Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 scores in sixty-five top-flight matches for the Toffees and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut against the opposition - who are located in the city and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"My mate Stephen said 'come and have a game, it's good fun'," commented the striker.

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

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

"The spectators who turn up and see are pleased and to make a moment if they watch us competing there and to ask us questions - it's more like the joy of us having somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

So great is the strength in depth at the club, he had his debut at full-back.

"It's a little unusual but then, I love running and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he added.

"I warn my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue running.

"That running is what I'm looking for. It's enjoyable."

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

'Surreal Scenario

Along with Cisse's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in three games for the side, while George Boyd hit 5 on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, notched a hat-trick in one game up front.

The team are leading of the Top Tier with 3 victories from three and a GD of plus nineteen.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Latics defender Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at two global tournaments for his country, in as well as featuring in more than two hundred top-flight matches.

"It was going round like a rumor they had these former top-flight stars," said the player.

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

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

"We held our own for a good 20 mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"Our group literally haven't ceased talking about it - I was calling my mum and brother on the journey home.

"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a group of normal guys.

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

'We'll Still Win the Title'

The manager manages the opposition veterans side, who secured the Premier Tier title the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"We went one-nil ahead and had a

David Bishop
David Bishop

Aria Vance is a digital strategist and content creator specializing in exclusive community building and premium online experiences.