Introduce this Sunday Division Club Featuring Nearly Two Thousand Top-Flight Matches

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

What do you boost a stellar veteran team who have won back-to-back championships, featuring a double triumph with thirty wins from thirty-two matches?

Bring in a collection of former pro players who have competed at the highest tier of club football and global soccer as you aim for more silverware.

One Greater Manchester club has an amateur vets squad with nine former top-flight footballers in their present roster.

222 Top Division Goals, 325 Global Caps

Wythenshawe Vets Over 35s are situated in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans Division Top Division.

Their lineup this season includes 9 ex- Premier League players, with a total over 1,800 Premier League appearances.

This elite team also boasts 222 Premier League goals and over 320 international appearances.

The squad include one forward, who notched 37 scores in 117 appearances for Newcastle United after signing for them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club Freiburg in 2012.

He had his debut for Wythenshawe in their last home-field game versus defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six goals in a 6-2 win - featuring a half-hour first-half triple.

The squad for this campaign also features ex- professionals such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- top-flight footballers have secured fifteen big honors and transferred for combined transfer sums of approximately £123m.

Household Figures and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned 6 Irish appearances, scoring 4 goals

Ireland began playing for the side in pre-season this summer through close friend and present team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then invited other former professionals, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side match, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese striker Niasse, who netted 12 goals in sixty-five Premier League matches for Everton and still attends their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and use an Everton training kit as their strip.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
He featured for the club between 2016 and 2020

"A friend Stephen told me 'join and play, it's enjoyable'," commented Niasse.

"Then he informed me we were facing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Blue shirts - I say this is strange for me!

"When you still enjoy football and you know you can still do it, anywhere you can play, what are you going to choose?

"Those spectators who turn up and see are happy and to give someone's moment if they watch us playing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the joy of us having a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

So great is the strength in depth at the club, he made his first game at defender.

"That's a bit different but then, I enjoy running and just move forward - I'm not defending that much," he said.

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

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

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

Unreal Feeling

Along with the forward's 6 goals on his first game, Ireland has netted eight in 3 games for the side, while George Boyd scored 5 on his first match and Lescott, a defender by trade, scored a hat-trick in one game up front.

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

One opponent, thirty-eight, who features on the flank for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Latics defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young boy who Heskey was.

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

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

"I think I was a bit awestruck facing him to be honest.

"Even Heskey got on and he's got 60-odd English caps.

"We competed well for a solid 20 mins but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

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

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

"Now we are eager for the second fixture."

'We'll Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby coaches the opposition vets team, who secured the Premier Division title last season, together with his co-manager.

"We scored one-nil up and had a

Barbara Escobar
Barbara Escobar

A seasoned mountaineer and outdoor writer with over a decade of experience exploring peaks across Europe and documenting sustainable hiking practices.