Discover the Sunday League Team Featuring Over 1,800 Top-Flight Games

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

What can you boost a outstanding experienced team that have won consecutive championships, including a double triumph with 30 victories from thirty-two games?

Sign a collection of former pro players who have performed at the elite tier of club and global soccer as you target more honors.

A Manchester side boasts an amateur veterans team with nine former Premier League players in their current roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Caps

The team Veterans Over-35s are situated in south the city and play in the Cheshire Veterans Division Top Division.

Their lineup this season boasts 9 former top-flight footballers, with a combined over 1,800 Premier League games.

This elite roster also includes 222 top division scores and over 320 international appearances.

The squad include one forward, who notched 37 scores in over 100 appearances for his former club after joining them for £9m from Bundesliga club SC Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse had his debut for Wythenshawe in their last home game versus reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six goals in a six-two victory - including a 32-minute first-half triple.

The squad for this season also includes ex- professionals such as English and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- top-flight players have claimed 15 big trophies and moved for total transfer sums of about £123 million.

Well-Known Figures and International Stars

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

Ireland began turning out for the team in pre-season this season through close mate and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then invited additional ex-pros, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side match, to join in.

Ex- Senegal striker Niasse, who netted 12 scores in sixty-five Premier League games for the Toffees and even now attends their home games, also had his debut against Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and use an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

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

"After that he told me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I saw them sporting Everton kits - I thought this is strange for me!

"When you still love the game and you know you can still play, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?

"The people who turn up and see are happy and to make a moment if they watch us playing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us having somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

Such is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse had his first game at defender.

"That's a bit unusual but then, I love sprinting and just go inside - I'm not defending that much," he said.

"I tell my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to keep running.

"That movement is what I'm after. It's good fun."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team

Dreamlike' Feeling

In addition to Cisse's six goals on his first game, Ireland has scored 8 in 3 games for the side, while Boyd scored five on his debut match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, scored a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

The team are top of the Premier Tier with 3 victories from 3 and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for the opposition, faced ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in as well as featuring in over 200 Premier League games.

"The news was going round like a rumor they had all these former top-flight players," remarked the player.

"I felt I was a bit awestruck playing against him to be honest.

"Even Emile [Heskey] got on and he's has over 60 England appearances.

"We competed well for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"Our group literally have not stopped talking about it - I was calling my mum and brother on the way home.

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

"Now we are eager for the return fixture."

We Will Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate veterans team, who secured the Top Tier title last season, together with his co-manager.

"Our team went 1-0 up and had a

Kent Brown
Kent Brown

Elara is a seasoned gaming analyst with a passion for helping players maximize their online casino adventures.